Tempest
by LoveShinobi-Angelv
Summary: Sequel to Aftershock. In a Tempest of emotions, will two former lovers be able to overcome their past and make a better future? -Rated for Sexual Content- Akito X Natsumi Note: An OC story
1. Suna

**Here's a list of their ages:**

**Toshiro - 26**

**Satomi - 24**

**Natsumi - 24**

**Yuki - 18**

**Minako - 24**

**Shuhei - 18**

**Akito - 25**

**Ken - 25**

**Tempest**

_Chapter One_

-Suna-

_**Five Years Later…**_

"Hah, I can't believe my little sister is going to get married." A tall redheaded man with dark jade eyes smiled.

"I know," the girl smiled brightly, her fiery hair matching that of her brother and her father.

The large family convened at the enormous gates of Suna. An older redhead stood silently, watching the scene between his children with his still lovely wife by his side. Two blonde girls, about sixteen years old, crowded around the older girl, latching onto each of her arms. "Yuki! I can't believe you're leaving forever!" Kallen cried, her green eyes now watery with tears.

"Yeah! What are we going to do if you're not here?" Yuri said, sighing deeply.

"I'm sure you guys will find things to do. You could always get boyfriends." Yuki suggested, laughing happily.

"True." They said together, detaching themselves as they laughed with her.

Temari and Shikamaru both sighed, for two very different reasons. The blonde aunt was sad that her precious little niece was leaving Suna to go marry the new Hokage, Uzumaki Shuhei. Yuki took turns hugging her aunts and uncles. She was really going to miss them, even her Uncle Kiba. "I'm going to miss everyone." She said, taking a step back and joining her mother and father.

"I'm sorry we can't go with you to say goodbye." Toshiro smiled sadly. His little sister was all grown up and so happy now. The young blonde from Konoha had really done an amazing thing, pulling her out of her depressive state. His gaze then shifted to his twin sisters, who had mirrored expressions. Now, for Satomi, the look was natural. But Natsumi had grown dimmer over the years. "Natsumi," he called, getting the woman's attention.

"Huh?" she blinked, watching her brother wearily.

He gestured over towards him and stepped away from his beautiful wife, who was holding the loveliest little auburn haired girl with dark teal eyes. The pink haired woman followed him and stopped when he did, "What is it Toshiro?" she asked, searching his eyes for an answer.

"Be careful." He told her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

She stared at him oddly and nodded, "You know I always am." The redhead sighed. He didn't like when Natsumi left the village. Over the years he had been able to fully take on all the work of being a Kage, but he still left all the criminal affairs to his sister. "Don't worry…" she said softly, placing her hand on his arm. "I already talked to Aunt Temari. She's going to handle what I do…well for the most part."

Toshiro laughed and flicked his sister in the forehead. "I know. So…" he arched a familiar brow. "I just want to tell you something, something I want you to really take into consideration."

She mimicked his action and stared at him oddly. "What?"

"Don't shut him out."

Natsumi went wide eyed and her throat felt dry. She hated how much he still affected her. Her brother didn't even have to say his name and her body gave reaction. "I don't shut him out." She replied as normally as she could, but her heart felt raw and hollow.

He gave her a skeptical look, "You know what I mean Natsumi."

"I can't Toshiro. I just can't." she stated, staring down at the ground.

"Why not?" the Kazekage asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

She glared at him, now being defensive. "I can't forgive him for what he did to you. I just can't…he betrayed me."

"He betrayed me too." Toshiro pointed out, fighting the smile that was forming on his face.

"It's different," she tried to protest.

"Is it?" the redhead smirked, leaning closer to her so that she could only see his eyes. "There is no difference, only depth. It's been five years Natsumi, and you haven't smiled once. You joined Anbu, and you command it with an iron fist. There's something wrong when Yuki is happier than you."

"She has a reason to be happy." Natsumi protested, moving away from her brother. "I am happy. I have my family and that's all I need. They give me all the love I need." She glared harshly at him. "I'm done talking about this Toshiro, I just can't okay? It was the choices that Akito decided to make. I don't have a problem being aquatinted with him…he is my friend. But those deep feelings were lost a long time ago." With that said, she left her brother and joined her sister, ready to leave for Konoha. Gaara's gaze shifted from his daughter to his son. Toshiro locked eyes with his father and then went back to Minako's side.

With a deep sigh, Gaara looked at Sakura and then the rest of his family. "We should probably head out now. We'll be back soon."

"Be safe." Minako said, smiling softly at her family. She would miss them while they were gone.

"I don't want Aunt Yuki to leave!" the little girl in Minako's arms cried, holding her arms out to her.

The young redhead ran back and slowly took Ami from her mother. "Oh Ami, it's okay. I will see you again. I promise. I will come to visit and you can come see Konoha. It's where your mommy is from." She told the small girl with a beautiful smile.

"I know." The three year old sighed and hugged her favorite aunt. "I'll miss you a lot."

Yuki kissed her niece on the cheek and handed her back to Minako. "Goodbye everyone!" she waved and ran after her mother and father, who had already started towards the desert. Natsumi and Satomi followed silently. She came between the two and grabbed both their hands, enjoying the last moments she would have with her family.

"Bye!" the blonde girls yelled, waving excitedly. Once the five Sabakus were nothing but spots on the horizon, the family started trickling away, either to go to work or off to play.

Toshiro sighed and took Ami, who was stretching out towards him. "Hello my little sand muffin." he teased, making her giggle.

She looked back out at the desert and sighed. "Why does Aunt Yuki have to leave? Why not Aunt Tomi or Aunt Sumi?" she asked, staring up at her father.

He laughed and shook his head, "Because Yuki is marrying Uncle Shuhei, and Tomi and Sumi can't marry Shuhei. He's too young for them."

Ami huffed and snuggled into his shirt. "But they're both mean."

"Now sweetie, I told you Aunt Sumi wasn't always like that, she used to be very happy." He said with a nod.

"Well if she would just forgive Uncle Kito she would be happy, and so would he." She said, crossing her arms.

"Honey I told you. It's complicated." Minako said, putting her arm around her husband and smiling at her daughter.

"No it isn't. He did something bad, and hurt her feelings. Then he felt sorry and apologized, and she should forgive him. Because didn't you say Daddy that you should always forgive someone, especially when they apologize?" she asked, looking up at her father.

Toshiro nodded and kissed his daughter on the top of the head. "Yes, you should always forgive. When you're older you will understand. Sometimes, sorry just isn't enough. Maybe something will happen when Aunt Sumi is with Uncle Kito for a long period of time." He explained and turned around, walking with Minako back to their house. Suna was going to be pretty dull without the bulk of the Sabaku family.


	2. Konoha

**Tempest**

_Chapter Two_

-Konoha-

"Do you accept this mission?" Shuhei asked from his spot in the Hokage's Office.

"Yes." Akito replied, already dressed in his Anbu uniform. He had joined as soon as they had gotten back from Suna five long years ago.

"You do realize that the party from Suna is going to arrive while you're gone." the young Hokage stated, raising a brow.

Akito sighed. He knew, but he would rather go out and do something where he knew the outcome, than what would happen when they arrived. He had missed Natsumi greatly, but he didn't want to push her. Their relationship had never been the same since he had departed after Toshiro and Minako's wedding, and it made him sad. So he did the only logical thing. He buried himself in his work.

"Yes." Then he walked over and grabbed a blank scroll and a pen, writing a short note. "Give this to Natsumi when they arrive." He ordered.

"Sure thing Akito-nii-san. Go get your team together. You need to leave by sunset." Shuhei said, rolling the scroll up and sitting it off to the side so that he wouldn't forget. He had mellowed out a bit over the years, becoming a bit more like his mother. It helped a lot when he had to do official Hokage stuff. He had just been appointed to the position a few months ago, and his father had told him that if he needed any help to just ask. So far nothing big had happened, and he hoped it would stay that way.

Akito disappeared in a puff of smoke then, off to fetch his team and prepare for the upcoming mission.

* * *

Gaara stopped once they were through the gates of Konoha. God he hated this place. "I don't understand why we have to make Yuki live in this awful village. I thought the alliance was solidified when Minako and Toshiro were married."

Natsumi sighed, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Because Dad, Minako is in Suna and its assurance for Konoha…plus Yuki loves Shuhei. So it's not like it's a big deal." She pointed out, continuing ahead towards the Kage Tower. Satomi followed silently, her long braid over her shoulder. The older redhead groaned and started his pace once more with a snickering Sakura right beside him.

"I kinda like it here anyways Dad," Yuki said with a smile. "It's like an adventure."

Once they had all made it to the tower near the large mountain, they went in and headed towards the Hokage's office. Natsumi was the first one to enter. Having inherited her father's traits, she didn't bother to knock.

Shuhei and Naruto had been in the middle of a discussion, but stopped upon seeing their friends. The young blonde stood and walked around his desk to greet them. When Yuki walked in, he went straight over to her and smiled. "Hey Yuki-chan. I missed you." He said, placing one hand on her hip and running the other one through her long hair that she now wore down.

The girl rolled her beautiful emerald eyes and allowed her stalker his simple pleasure. "I see you're still a creeper Shuhei." She laughed genuinely.

Gaara watched the younger Naruto wanna-be warily. "You really are a stalker."

"Where's Akito?" Natsumi asked, looking around the room. He had always been there when they came to Konoha. It was odd that he be missing this time.

"Who cares?" Satomi huffed. "Hopefully he died on a mission."

Shuhei looked over at the elder twin. "Well you're partially right. He's on a mission right now and won't be back for a few days.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well at least there's _some_ hope left."

"On a mission where?" Natsumi asked, ignoring her sister.

"It's confidential." He said. Then his face lit up slightly. "That reminds me." He said walking back over to his desk and grabbing a scroll. "He left this for you." He said, handing it to Natsumi.

The pink haired woman rolled her eyes. She wasn't stupid, and the only missions a Kage would never spill about were Anbu ones. She looked down at the scroll and unrolled it, reading its contents.

_Natsumi, and anyone else who cares,_

_I will be gone on a mission for a few days, and will try to return shortly. Sorry I couldn't be there to greet you._

_-Uchiha Akito_

Without another word she left the room, a curious gaze following from her sisters. Naruto walked over to Gaara then. "Hey Gaara, you know what we should do?"

"What?" Gaara asked cautiously.

"We should spar. You know, since you're an old man and all. I just wanna make sure you're not getting too frail." He said with a grin, putting his arm around his friend's shoulders.

"We're the same age moron."

"Yeah, besides, Gaara would win anyways, and I don't wanna have to heal your sorry butt." Sakura chimed in, smiling humorously at her friend.

Naruto let go of the elder redhead and ran over to his friend, hugging her fiercely. "Aw you don't really mean that do you Sakura-chan?! Have a little faith." He said, setting her down.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I have faith in you. It's just that I have more in Gaara." She said with a smile.

The redhead smirked and wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders. "I have an amazing wife." He stated.

"Well Hinata-chan's amazing too. She's just held up at some clan meeting." Naruto said.

"Are we done here? I wanna show Yuki-chan everything that's changed since the last time she visited." Shuhei asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Naruto shook his head. "Oh no. You still have paperwork to do. Being Hokage means that you have a responsibility."

"But Dad, I don't wanna finish my paperwork! Can't you do it?" the young blonde pleaded.

"Not on your life! I'm done with that crap!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing at his son's misery. "Come on guys, let's go get some lunch." He said, walking out of the room. Gaara and Sakura followed shortly after. Satomi left as well, saying something about finding her grandmother Tsunade.

Shuhei just looked at his bride-to-be. "Wanna play hooky with me?" he asked, a devious smile on his face.

"Well I _was_ going to offer to help you, but that sounds like a much better plan." She laughed and took his hand, letting him lead her out of the room.

* * *

One of the tiles on the ceiling moved and Natsumi dropped down into a dark room filled with shelves. Silently, she moved around the room and searched for a light switch. When she found one, the room was illuminated with light and revealed all the secret Anbu scrolls for Konoha. The sand shinobi moved around, scanning for the most recent missions assigned. Once she found them and pulled one out and quickly read the assigned Anbu. None of the names were Akito's. She wrapped it back up and pulled out another. She went through a few more and finally spotted his name. She couldn't help but laugh. Of course he was the captain. She read the mission and where it was. The Land of Snow. Interesting, she thought with a smirk. It wouldn't take her too long to get there.

She put the scroll back and exited the room the way she had entered. She knew this was probably a stupid idea, but it had almost been a year since she got to see Akito. Despite her mixed feelings towards the Uchiha, he really was the only interesting thing about Konoha. She dropped back into the hall and glanced around. Seeing the coast was still clear she crept towards another sealed room, picking the lock easily. Inside were shelves with boxes containing uniforms for every rank of ninja. She found the box containing all the Anbu vests. She rummaged through them quickly, until finding one she wanted. It wasn't like the male vests, the straps were the same and it was white, but it came together in the front and laced up from top to bottom. She put the box back up and then found one with undistributed masks.

She pulled a couple out and then found one with the face of a raccoon. She smiled at the irony and took it as her prize. With everything she needed she left the room and locked it back up. In a swirl of sand she was gone and appeared in Akito's room. She didn't sense Sasuke in the house, which was a _really_ good thing. She tossed her own bag onto his bed and began to strip her clothes off. She was going to go find Akito, since he wasn't here to entertain her, and like hell was she going to spend all her time with Satomi or Yuki and Shuhei.

When she was only in her underwear, she opened her bag and dug around for some black shorts. She found them and pulled them on. They were pretty short, not even reaching halfway down her thighs, but she liked to feel free. Next she brought out a black tank top with thick straps, almost the same size as the vest's straps. She pulled it down and loved the soft feel of the fabric. She left her knee high ninja shoes on, noting they looked good with the outfit. She _was_ a princess after all, and no matter what she _would_ look good.

Finally she grabbed the Anbu vest and put her arms through the holes, pulling it together and starting to tighten the string as if she were tying tennis shoes. Finally reaching the top, she tied the red thread into a bow and moved around to test the feel of the outfit. It was pretty similar to her own uniform back in Suna. She searched through her pack then and pulled on her black gloves. Quickly, she tossed all her remaining clothes and things in her bag, stashing it in Akito's closet. After she had gotten all her weapons on, aside from her sand gourd, she brushed her hair and made sure she looked perfect. And the final touch, her mask. She grabbed it and headed out the door, letting her gourd dissolve and follow her like small gnats.

Before she left she stopped by a ninja store and located the piece of clothing she was looking for. She pulled the white cloak from the hanger and tried it on. It was loose enough to be comfortable but small enough not to get in the way. She hurried to the register and paid the owner, who looked pretty confused. She headed for the gates and when they were in sight, she tied on the Anbu mask tightly. She fastened the cloak around her body, knowing she would need it to protect her from the cold country she would be venturing to. She lowered to the ground and took off, unseen by the two standing guards at the gate.

Natsumi bound through the trees with an intense speed, headed straight for Snow Country. Once she was close enough, she would be able to track Akito with no problem.


	3. Mission

**Tempest**

_Chapter Three_

-Mission-

Akito sighed and looked at their surroundings. He hated surprise attacks. Especially when they weren't even a surprise. If the enemy were going to try and attack them, they could at least put some effort into it.

"What do you want us to do Teichou?" a male Anbu with a cat mask asked.

"We kill them of course. We can't allow for any delays, and now that they know we're here we need to end them." Akito answered.

"Are we going to wait for them to come to us?" another male asked, this one in a wolf mask.

"Ch. Do we ever?" Akito smirked. Then he jumped off into the trees, his team following. After traveling for a few miles they set up their trap and waited. A few minutes later a group of ten ninjas from Grass arrived.

Their enemies looked around. "Where did they go?" one of them asked, looking to their supposed leader.

"I'm not sure. Try sensing them again." He ordered, looking around the small area they had stopped in.

Before anything more could happen, the group of Anbu jumped down into the circle of trees, catching the enemy nin by surprise. The group began fighting immediately, each Anbu member taking on at least two, leaving Akito with four. But he liked those odds, since it gave him a challenge.

They hadn't gotten far in their fights when everyone stopped. There was an enormous chakra speeding towards them, not bothering to hide its presence. The Grass shinobi looked at the Konoha Anbu, obviously wanting to know if this person was with them. But they seemed just as confused.

"What the hell is that?" the man with the wolf mask asked, facing Akito.

"I don't know, but be ready for it." He said, switching his attention in the direction of where the chakra was coming from.

The chakra moved even faster than his sharingan could predict. Suddenly, a blur of white burst from the trees, blending in with the snow on the ground and covering all the greenery. A dark laughter erupted from the person. They were dressed in a white cloak that cascaded around their body, but it was obviously a girl. Her frame was too small to be a man's. The only distinguishable feature was the raccoon mask that peered out from the hooded cloak. "Found you." She said triumphantly, disappearing in an instant. She twirled around and nailed one of the Grass shinobi in the face with her foot. She dashed around the field, the other men finally waking from their stupor. As she moved, her cloak flew up, revealing an interesting choice of clothing.

The mysterious girl flipped forward and twirled around on her hand, taking out two more of the ninja threatening the Leaf Anbu. While she was upside down, her vest slid up a bit, revealing a very familiar scar. Her feet touched back down to the ground and she pulled out two kunai, nailing another two men right in the forehead.

Akito recognized her instantly. Damn Natsumi and her recklessness, he thought. But he wouldn't have her any other way. "Who the hell is that?!" the only female Anbu of the team asked, wearing a hawk mask.

"Just some stalker." Akito said, sighing and crossing his arms.

"Hey!" Natsumi yelled, slamming the current ninja she was fighting's head into a tree. She disappeared and landed in front of Akito. Even though he was wearing a mask she could tell it was him from a mile away. His aura was very commanding and prideful. "I am _not_ a stalker!"

"Whatever." He said. Then he drew his katana and disappeared, taking out two more of the unsuspecting enemy nin. "That's just why you stole a Konoha Anbu uniform, snuck a peek at the mission report, and came here. To see me." He continued, quickly forming the seals for his family's fire jutsu and sending it off towards the remaining ones, some of which dodged and others didn't get away in time.

She jumped after him, bounding off a nearby tree. He had just killed the last of the Grass ninja, and right when he turned around, she took him to the ground and they fell in the snow, with her straddling his waist. She grabbed his wrists and pinned them beside his head, "I did _not_ stalk you. I don't _stalk_." She said again with a huff.

He smirked behind his mask, freeing one of his hands. "Yeah, that's why you're all over me. Because non-stalkers do that."

The Anbu member with the hawk mask looked at the scene and then back at her teammates. "What's going on?!" she asked, confused.

"Isn't it obvious? Teichou has himself a little booty call." The wolf said, crossing his arms.

"I'm nobody's booty call!" Natsumi shouted over at the other three, having heard his statement. She froze and shivered obviously. She looked down and locked onto Akito's free hand, which was now grasping her butt tightly. She felt her cheeks burning in the cold air and pushed off the Uchiha. "Pervert!"

"Hey, you tackled me to the ground. How could I not assume that you wanted my attention?" he teased, standing and brushing the snow off him.

She just crossed her arms angrily, "To think I came all this way to see you and all you do is violate me. Typical Uchiha." She taunted.

The woman with them was utterly shocked. She had never heard anyone talk to her captain that way. And so she decided to intervene, "Just who the hell do you think you are?! How dare you treat Akito-sama that way!" she was between the two now.

Natsumi laughed dryly and reached up, pulling off her mask to reveal her perfect and flawless face. "Back off Leaf nin, you're no match for me." She stated, tossing back the hood of her cloak as well and showing her light pink hair.

Akito removed his weasel mask and looked between the two. "Calm down Natsumi. And you," he said, turning to his subordinate, "Don't ever speak to her that way again. That's an order Taka." Then he walked away to discuss a place to camp with the other two members, leaving his mask hanging around his neck.

Natsumi stuck her tongue out at the girl as she followed Akito.

"There's a place about ten miles away that we can stay. It's pretty secluded and we can refill our canteens at the nearby lake." The wolf said.

"Lead the way Kurami, since you know the terrain best." Akito said. Then he put his mask back in place. Looking at the rest of the group he said, "Let's go." And leapt off into the trees.

Akito made his way next to Natsumi as they traveled. "So, why _are_ you here? I know Shuhei didn't send you." He said.

"Why not?" she shrugged, smirking from beneath her mask.

He sighed. They landed in a small clearing then, where they were going to make camp. "Did you even bring any supplies? A tent? Food?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips.

She held up a finger to correct him in assuming how unprepared she was. "Oh…" she blinked, lowering her hand and laughing. "Whoops. Guess I didn't really think that through."

"That's okay Akito, she can sleep in my tent if she wants." Tora said as he took off his mask revealing his kind face, blonde hair, and warm brown eyes. He obviously hadn't meant anything sexual with the offer, but he knew his captain liked his privacy.

"Yeah, because I refuse to share mine with her." Taka said, taking her mask off and revealing striking features with piercing blue eyes and long brown hair.

"Or she could stay with me. I can think of plenty of ways we can stay warm." Kurami added, taking his mask off as well. He had dark blue hair and brown eyes.

Akito took his mask off and glared at his team. "None of that is necessary because she will be staying with me. End of discussion."

Kurami snickered, giving his captain a suggestive look. "Aye, Aye, Teichou." He saluted with a smartass attitude. The rest of the members started pitching their tents as Natsumi waited patiently for Akito to finish his. She would have helped, but he would probably stop her and do it himself anyway, saying she didn't know how to do it the proper way.

When he finished pitching the tent Akito made a fire using the wood that Tora had gathered and a light fire jutsu. The group stat down and began to eat their rations. Wordlessly, Akito tore his in half and handed it to Natsumi. She took it gratefully and leaned against him for warmth. "Thank you," she said with a small smile.

"So…Natsumi right?" Kurami asked, getting a nod in return. "How did you find us?"

Tora took a drink of his water and nodded his head as well. "Yeah it's pretty weird. What are you, a tracker?" he laughed, taking a big bite out of a protein bar.

"Well that, but I did break into the mission room and found you guys' mission scroll." She said simply, making the other three go wide eyed in shock.

"You _broke_ into our secret rooms?! Do you know how illegal that is?! Especially since you're not even from our village!" Taka practically shrieked.

Akito shrugged nonchalantly. "Like she cares. It just shows that we need to beef up the security and that Natsumi is a skilled ninja." He told them, taking a bite of his food.

"Teichou! How can you stand for that?! You should arrest her right now for crimes against Konoha!" the brunette fumed. Why was Akito acting so different around this woman?! Normally if their mission had been interrupted he would have killed them on the spot.

"For what purpose? Her brother is the Kazekage of Suna. If she were to be arrested we would just have to release her or risk breaking our alliance. And the fact that she's here doesn't bother me any. She'll actually help us complete the mission faster. Now stop questioning my judgment. I don't want to hear anything more on the subject. If we get into trouble with the Hokage I will take the blame." He said, taking a sip of his water and then handing the canteen to Natsumi.

She watched the exchange between the two and how comfortable they were with sharing their things. "Not that you will," Natsumi put in, handing him back his canteen.

"You're really pretty." Kurami blurted out, looking surprised himself that the words had spilled out. "Well I mean, I'm just saying you have a very nice body and you are really attractive." He blabbered on. Natsumi just arched her brow and looked over at Akito.

"Um, thanks?"

"Don't mind him," Tora laughed and gave his teammate a nudge. "He's kinda women obsessed."

"She isn't _that_ pretty." Taka mumbled, frowning at the fire.

"Oh I'm sorry Taka! I didn't mean to make you jealous! You look nice too!" Kurami said, putting his arm around her.

Akito rolled his eyes and stood. "Tora, take first watch. You can wake Kurami in four hours and he'll take over." He said. Then he turned to Kurami. "We need to discuss the plan for tomorrow." He told him, heading away from the camp so they could plan in private.

"What about me?!" Taka asked, offended that she hadn't been told to do anything from her leader.

"Get some beauty sleep, you look like you could use it." Akito said with a smirk, disappearing into the shadows. Kurami laughed and walked off with his captain. Taka huffed and crossed her arms. It really upset her that her captain preferred some pink haired twit over his own teammates.

"Akitooooooooo," Natsumi leaned back, watching the area where he had disappeared. "I want something to do."

"Secure the perimeter then." He called over his shoulder.

"Got it!" she said excitedly and hopped up from her spot. She looked down at Taka with a triumphant smirk and walked off then, disappearing as she took off to make sure there were no threats nearby.

After going over what they would need to do tomorrow, Akito made his way back to his tent. Without checking to see if Natsumi was decent he opened the flap and walked in.

"Excuse me!" the pink haired woman huffed, covering her body with her arms when he suddenly entered. She had taken off her Anbu vest and shoes and was now only in her black shorts and tight shirt.

He rolled his eyes at her and began to undo his vest. "It's not anything I haven't seen before."

"So." She huffed, slowly relaxing.

He took his vest off, and then removed his gloves, leaving himself clad in his loose black pants and tight black sleeveless turtleneck. Then he unzipped his sleeping bag and crawled in. Turning to her he said, "We can share my sleeping bag if you want."

"I'll be fine." She informed him, having already lain out her recently purchased cloak. She lay down beside him and took the excess fabric and wrapped it around herself. She shivered, cursing silently. Why did snow have to be so freezing?! And she wasn't accustomed to freezing weather. So it was especially bad.

He smirked, knowing that she was cold. He refused to push the matter though, wanting her to come to him instead. So he lay down and snuggled into the warmth his sleeping bag provided, sighing contentedly for emphasis. "Night." He said, lying on his back.

"Goodnight." She said and then shut her eyes. She knew she wouldn't fully sleep since she hadn't been able to have a restful night's sleep for five years. She refused to let her mind delve into why. Slowly, Natsumi drifted into unconsciousness, shivering greatly from the lack of heat her cloak provided. She cursed her attire. What she sacrificed for beauty.

She wasn't asleep for long, maybe forty-five minutes, when she sat up abruptly, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Akito sat up as well and looked over at her, alarmed. "What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

She stopped yelling when she heard his voice and looked over at him, fear filling her jade eyes. Without another word, she crawled over him, already feeling the comfort of his body heat. "Okay," she said softly, clinging onto him.

He opened up his sleeping bag and let her crawl in. "You're freezing." He stated, bringing his arm around her and rubbing her up and down, trying to create some heat from the friction. She leaned into his embrace, wanting any kind of reassurance.

"I don't like the cold." She told him, snuggling into his chest and gripping his shirt tightly.

"Well nobody really likes the cold, but do you want to tell me why you in particular don't like it? I mean, you were screaming, Natsumi." He said, pulling her closer to him. She was finally beginning to warm up a bit.

She was crying now, remembering the awful dream. Her shivering had awakened a lost memory she had tried to repress. She had had a dream from when she was a small girl and drenched in water, left all alone in a dark cave. "I dreamed about when I was kidnapped." She whispered softly. "They kept throwing water on me. It was so cold."

His eyes widened slightly, remembering when she had been taken. He hadn't really been told about the details, but now that he knew, he guessed it all made sense. He brought his other arm around her and hugged her to his body. Then he began to run his fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her. "It's fine. As long as I'm here you won't be cold." He said.

She hated how comforting he was and how her body reacted to his despite her reluctance to let him back in. But he knew just how to take her terrible feelings away. His actions were as tender and caring as they always had been. It made her angry. Why didn't her body ever listen to her head when she was around him? She nodded and lay down with him, tangling her legs with his to steal as much warmth as she could. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome. Now go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." He said, referring to the mission.

"I will. I'll show you just how good I've gotten." She smirked in a prideful way, keeping a tight grip on him. This was only for her own comfort, she told herself. She didn't _want_ to be this close to him. Though she didn't realize she had told him that just to look better in his eyes. After all, Uchihas were all about strength.


	4. Duo

**Tempest**

_Chapter Four_

-Duo-

Akito opened his eyes to be met with the peaceful, slumbering face of Natsumi. He sighed, smiling slightly. He had missed sleeping with her and waking up to her beautiful face. He brought his hand up and began to stroke her head, running his fingers through her hair. He loved her hair, although he would never admit it aloud. He let out another sigh. He needed to get up and make sure that everything was ready.

Natsumi was awoken when Akito had attempted to get up without disturbing her. Her grip on him tightened when he moved once more. "Where are you going?" she growled out, her eyes still closed. She was so warm and so cozy right now and she didn't want it to end. She nuzzled into his chest, breathing in his crisp scent.

He smirked down at her. She was so cute in the mornings, especially when she was sleepy. "I need to go get a few things ready for later. Its morning you know." He told her. He had a huge urge to stroke her cheek, but ignored it. Things weren't the same between them, and hadn't been for a long time. Whereas she would once have relished in the gesture, he knew that it would only be unwanted and unappreciated now.

"So." She said darkly, opening her eyes and looking up at him. "I'm not ready to get up and I want your warmth." She said simply, not releasing him as she closed her eyes.

He sighed, and lay back down, putting his arms around her once more. "Well, just let me know when you are. People are waiting on us you know." He said with a smirk. He could hear his teammates shuffling about outside.

"People are always waiting on me," she pointed out with small smile. She looked up at him for a moment and laughed. "I am a princess after all."

"I know." He said.

Suddenly there was a shadow in front of the tent. "Teichou, we really should get moving. Tell the little priss to get her ass up." Taka's voice said testily.

Natsumi was up in an instant, pulling her ninja shoes on quickly and bursting out of their tent, not bothering with any of her other clothes. "Excuse me?! Do you have a problem?! Because we can settle this right now." She seethed, glaring threateningly at the other woman.

"Yes, actually I do. You can't just show up on our mission and then cause it to run behind schedule, just because you want to try and seduce Akito-sama." Taka replied, crossing her arms.

Akito was out of the tent then, and he put a cloak around Natsumi's shoulders to cover her up. "Taka. That's enough. Go tell Tora and Kurami that we're leaving in thirty minutes. Now." He ordered.

"Yes Teichou." Taka said, looking down at the ground in shame. She glared at Natsumi and walked away, not wanting to get into any more trouble.

Natsumi stuck her tongue out after Taka and turned to Akito. "I'm going to have to kill her aren't I? How dare she challenge me. No one can beat me." She huffed and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the tent with her. She pulled off the cloak and started readying herself. She pulled her shorts down a bit since in they had moved up while they were asleep. The action pulled them down enough to reveal the scar on her hip.

Akito smirked. "I could beat you." He said, staring at her scar.

She scoffed and gave a slow stretch. No matter how mad she was at him, she loved how he couldn't stop staring at her body. "Sure you could _Uchiha_." she teased.

He grabbed his vest and began to put it on. "Hn. I can do things that you can't even imagine." He said, walking over to her as he buckled it.

"Vice versa, _baby_." She smirked up at him, staying on her knees as she pulled on her own vest, beginning to lace it up.

He bent over so that his mouth was next to her ear. "But what I can do will make you scream." He said huskily. Then he stood and exited the tent, not giving her the chance to reply.

Her jaw dropped and she stared after him. She finished with a small bow and got all her weapons, attaching them to her body. She ran her fingers through her hair and made sure that she looked presentable and beautiful, which wasn't very hard. She put on her cloak and grabbed the raccoon mask, exiting the tent as well.

Akito finished his short discussion with Tora, and turned in her direction. Seeing that she was out of the tent, he went back in and put away all of his gear. Then he came back out and took it down, putting everything back in his pack. Once that was finished he stood and turned to the group. "Is everyone ready?"

"Well _we_ are. Why don't you ask the little princess over there?" Taka spat out, sending an icy glare towards Natsumi. Before anyone could comprehend what was happening Natsumi was in front of Taka, her kick connecting in an instant. Taka fell back and slid in the snow, wide eyed.

"You wanna say that again you annoying woman?!" she glared right back, loving the shocked look on Taka's face.

"Taka, I _will_ not tell you again. Do not speak to Natsumi that way. She outranks you in every shape and form. If I have to remind you once more, I will make sure that you are suspended when we get back." Akito said. Then he turned to Natsumi. "I know it's hard but…_try_ to control yourself." He said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

"I shouldn't have to." She crossed her arms angrily and took her place by his side. "And for your information Taka," Natsumi looked over towards the recovered girl. "I'd listen to your captain. I am the highest ranking Anbu member in Suna. Don't test my patience. And Suna is a lot more vicious than Konoha is. I assure you." The she turned to Akito with a lighter demeanor. "So Teichou what's the plan?" she asked, switching from dominating to completely submissive.

"The base that we are to infiltrate and destroy is about thirty miles north of us. Once we arrive we get in, and get out. No survivors. This group is a small rebellion left over from the war. The Hokage wants them eliminated before they can organize enough to attack. Think you can handle it?" he asked, raising a brow at her.

"That's easy." She brushed off and started walking. "Kill all, no survivors? It doesn't get any simpler than that." She put her mask on then and tied it tightly to her head.

Kurami laughed and did the same. "I like her Akito." He walked past his old friend and pat his shoulder. "I knew you liked 'em feisty." He snickered and followed Natsumi.

Taka came beside Akito and huffed. "Akito-sama, this is unfair. You shouldn't treat her differently than the rest of us. I mean just look at her, she parades herself around like she's some prize to be won."

"She is." He said simply, putting his mask in place.

The brunette was stunned, "What?" she mimicked his actions and put her own mask on.

"You heard me." He told her. Then he leapt into the trees, signaling to his team to follow. She rolled her eyes and took the rear of the group. She hated this Suna girl. She was really starting to irritate her.

After traveling to the base, they halted. Akito signaled for his team to surround the building. When Natsumi moved to go find a space to wait Akito put his hand on her shoulder. "You stay with me." He told her, watching the building and activating his sharingan.

"What? Why?" she blinked, moving closer to him.

Taka was glad her mask covered her jealous stare. "Yeah Akito-sama. Why?" Tora and Kurami just rolled their eyes and took their own positions.

"We fight well together." Was all he said by way of explanation. It was true, and that way he wouldn't have to worry about her too much, because she would be near enough for him to be able to keep an eye on her.

She smirked and leaned closer to him, "Are you referring to the time when we fought together in Suna, cause' you could just be using this as an excuse to touch my body." She lifted her hand and pulled up his mask to his forehead. She did the same with her free hand and her own mask. She pressed her cheek against his and whispered into his ear, "You don't have to make up excuses remember," she grabbed his wrist and pressed his hand over her scar. He knew where it was even with her clothes on.

He fought down the blush, and was glad that he was able to keep his face neutral. "We'll see. I was actually referring to the fact that when we did fight together that time the battle was over quickly, and that's what we need for this mission."

Her good mood died. She hated when he didn't take her bait and it slowly reminded her she was supposed to keep him at a distance. "Right." She said, pulling away and placing her mask back on. The last expression on her face being disappointment.

Taka, glad with Akito's reaction, took off to her own position. Natsumi jumped into the tree and pressed against the trunk. She watched the fortress carefully, waiting for Akito to tell her what to do.

He lowered his mask as well. He drew a kunai and moved forward, quickly taking out the guard before he knew what hit him. Then he threw a small bomb into the building and leapt away. The best way to get everyone out of the building would be the element of surprise.

The bomb exploded, and shortly after about fifty ninja came out, looking for their attacker. Akito stood there with his katana drawn and flung over his shoulder casually. When he lowered the sword, Tora, Kumori, and Taka moved in.

Natsumi sighed, it was almost _too_ easy. She jumped down and took off, at Akito's side in an instant. "Always so flashy." She faced him and then focused on the men running towards them.

"What can I say? I like to show how good I am. Especially when you're around." He said with a smirk, putting lightning into his blade and moving to attack.

"So cocky." She rolled her eyes and flipped back, her hands beginning to glow a dark green. Her hands formed to fists aside from two fingers, her stance mirroring the Hyuuga style. With a few quick jabs, three men around her fell into the snow, yelling in pain.

"So brutal." He replied. Then he grabbed a man by his neck and brought him close enough to his mask so that they could see his sharingan. A second later the man was screaming in pain. Akito dropped him once he stopped wriggling, and threw a kunai in his jugular, making sure that he was dead. Once assured, he moved on to the next victim.

Another wave of ninja ran out, seeing their comrades needed help. Natsumi stepped back and gasped, having run into someone. She whirled around, with a kunai drawn, holding it at Akito's neck. She felt the tip of a sword pressing into her side, but they both remained in that position. "Oops."

He withdrew his katana quickly and waited for her to do the same. "Sorry." He said, throwing kunai at an unsuspecting ninja.

"It's okay," she shrugged it off and threw hers past his face, impaling a man in the jugular. She glanced around now, seeing they were surrounded by quite a number of enemy ninja. "Oh no…" Natsumi let out an exasperated sigh. She moved her mask a bit and let one of her eyes show, looking at Akito. "Looks like we're surrounded…what_ever_ will we do?" she faked a gasp and placed her hands on her cheeks.

He snickered and moved his mask as well, allowing for one of his glowing red eyes to become visible. "I don't know….we'll never be able to get out of this alive. Oh wait…yes we will." He said, moving his mask some more so that she could see his smirk.

She locked eyes with him for a brief moment. She took off in a run, and sensing her request, he laced his fingers together. Once her foot set in place he launched her into the air. Suddenly all her sand pulled together and spread into the sky, creating a dust cloud of gold. She formed a few hand signs and then spread out her fingers, spinning in the air. The sand shot down like a deadly rain, pouring down senbon from above, causing a bulk of the men to collapse, some gasping in pain from the hits that weren't lethal.

While she was up in the air Akito sent out his family's fire jutsu, killing those who weren't quick enough or aware enough to dodge. As she came down from the air he caught her, cradling her in his arms. "Why is it you're always falling into my arms?" he asked.

"Because for some reason I still trust you to catch me when I fall." She said with a smirk.

"As it will always be." He said, mirroring her expression.

Taka glared at them. "I don't understand. Why is he acting that way with her? I've never seen him be so carefree when fighting."

Tora chuckled. "Because he's known her since he was eight, and is madly in love with her." He said, bringing down an enemy.

"What?! How could he love that twit?!" she asked, engaging in combat with another ninja.

Kurami spoke up this time. "Jeez Taka, where have you been all these years? Everyone in the village knows about their relationship."

"Relationship?" she asked, shocked. Her captain was already taken?

"God, you girls care about the dumbest things." Kurami said.

Tora rolled his eyes, "And besides, something bad happened in Suna. They aren't in a relationship. It's just complicated." Then her two teammates left her, heading off to kill more of the ninjas.

Natsumi looked down at the ground and then back at Akito. "Well you can put me down anytime."

"Oh." He released her then, keeping his hands on her as long as he could.

"Thanks for catching me. But it looks like they got some reinforcements still held up in there and they are coming out to play." She pointed towards the gateway as more men came out, but it was fewer than before. "Good luck." She whispered, taking off towards them. She was tired of being in the snow and she was tired of being with those other people. If she wanted to hang out with a depressing angry woman she would have just stayed and been with Satomi. She flipped out two kunai and sped through the sea of bodies, slitting vitals and taking the enemy down.

She slid to a stop, letting the men fall behind her, face first into their cold deaths. That was when she felt a presence behind her. She turned around, but before her sand could protect its mistress, since it was still spread over the field, the very large man behind her formed a fist, a purple mist forming around it before he hit her right in the face.

The pain was instantaneous and she flew back, hitting the ground and then slamming into a tree. She gasped out, having the breath knocked from her lungs as she slid to the ground. She slowly reached back and felt her head. When she brought her hand to her face, there was fresh blood coating her fingers and palm.

Akito saw what happened and grew angry. Spinning around he took a deep breath and pointed his fingers out, similar to the way Minako did when using the Gentle Fist. He held out both his hands, and they sparked with lightening. He brought his arms together and aimed towards the bulk of the remaining ninja. An enormous lightning bolt shot out into the mass and erupted a painful cry from all the surrounding enemies, since the lightning traveled like a current connecting to every last one of the men. Soon their yells died down, and they all fell simultaneously into the snow, their clothes scorched. He had perfected the technique over the years, and was now able to hit more than one target at a time.

Once he saw that they were all dead he was at Natsumi's side in an instant. "Are you alright?" he asked, pulling off his mask and kneeling next to her.

She nodded slowly, having pulled off her mask by now. She looked up at him and seemed sad. "Was that what you used to try and kill Toshiro?"

Pain from all those years ago entered his eyes then. "Yeah, only it was a lot weaker." He said softly.

"Well I assumed that much…it didn't kill him after all."

"It would have." He said, helping her to her feet. "If I hadn't changed its course at the last second."

She stood slowly, swaying a bit. "Look I don't need to hear the story again. Toshiro has already said it like five hundred times." She sighed and then fell forward, feeling light headed. Blood began to run down her neck. "My head hurts," she whispered, shutting her eyes.

He caught her, bringing her closer to his body in the process. "Can you heal it? If not, I do have some ointment that we can put on it." He said, referring to the special cream that the Hyuuga used.

She moved her hand to the back of her head with much effort. She had hit the tree a lot harder than she thought. She touched the tender area and began to heal the wound. It closed up, but her eyes didn't open. "I want to sleep…" she told him. "Or at least lay down, I think I hit my head harder than I presumed."

He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "Alright." He scanned the area for any more chakra signatures, and, sensing none, went over to where his team was. "Let's go." He said, leaping into the trees and speeding to a spot that had been previously picked for them to camp at once they had completed their mission. His team followed wordlessly.

Once they reached their new campsite he waited for his team to arrive. He walked over to Kurami and held Natsumi out to him. "Here…no." he said taking her back, remembering how his teammate was. Then he walked over to Tora. "Here. You hold her." He said, handing her over. He set up his tent. Once he was done he took her back from Tora and put her inside. "Rest." He said, stroking some of her hair out of her eyes.

She nodded and removed her shoes and vest, quickly snuggling into his sleeping bag. "And if it's possible, I'll need something to eat." She told him and then curled up, shutting her eyes and trying to rest.

He nodded and left the tent, "Well, well, well. Looks like the little sand princess is a liability." Taka said spitefully, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tora looked over at his teammate as he pulled off his mask. "Oh will you quit it. Natsumi-sama did amazing and took more than her fair share."

Kurami had gone around the perimeter to make sure they had no followers. When he saw Akito he smiled. "Hey Teichou, I just found a spring of water. Think you could heat it up so we could get some bathing done?"

"No problem. Taka, be useful and make something for Natsumi to eat." He ordered, walking off into the forest towards the spring. He wanted to wash all the dirt from traveling as soon as possible.

Her jaw dropped and she stared after him. "WHAT?! Why do I have to cater to her needs?!" With no answer she huffed and decided it was best not to fight against her captain. She rummaged through their things and tried to find something Akito would approve of.

Arriving at the spring, he performed a large fire jutsu, heating up the water quickly. Then he stripped off his clothes and went in to bathe. It had been a long day, and the sooner he was clean, the better.

* * *

Natsumi woke up when she heard someone enter the tent. She sat up, expecting to see the Uchiha, but was met with an angry blue gaze. Taka sat next to her and offered the pink haired woman a meaty bowl of ramen. "Here. Akito-sama said you had hurt your head. So I assumed you needed meat."

"Yes, thank you." She said, happily eating the offered food. "Yum." She ate quickly, feeling much better already.

Not wanting to be around her competition anymore Taka left, leaving Natsumi alone. She finished as fast as she could and then set the bowl aside. She wondered where Akito was, so she got up to go find him. She grabbed her ninja shoes and put them on and then pulled on her vest, lacing it up as she headed out of the tent. She saw no one outside the camp. They were probably gathering more firewood for the currently burning one in the center. It was night already, and the full moon was shining brightly in the sky.

She started off towards the edge of camp and picked up on Akito's chakra. He wasn't too far off, so after passing a few trees and weaving between them, she came to a small clearing with a sizzling hot spring surround by smooth boulders.

He was currently bathing. Having finished, he began to walk towards the shore. The water was still plenty hot, enough for the rest of his team to bathe as well.

Natsumi went wide eyed from the sight. She quickly hid behind a thick tree and peered around it, a dark red blush creeping up her cheeks from his naked appearance. He finally stepped out onto the grass, since he had used a fire jutsu most the snow in the area had melted. She couldn't help but gasp at the sight at _all_ of Akito. He was completely naked and wasn't even bothering with the towel that was lying next to the spring.

Sensing another presence in the area, Akito activated his sharingan and ran at them quickly, pinning the intruder to a tree with his body. His red eyes widened when they saw Natsumi's equally red face. He smirked and deactivated his bloodline. "Well…aren't _you_ the naughty one. Watching me as I bathed."

She didn't respond for a while, her face burning from her dark blush. He was _so_ naked, and he was pressing himself against her. That was when she could feel _all_ of his wet body against hers. She felt her knees buckle beneath her and she slumped a bit. "Um…no. I wasn't. I was…" she couldn't even form a sentence with how flustered she was. The only thing that was processing in her mind was just how attractive Akito was.

"Sure you weren't." he said. He leaned forward so that his mouth was next to her ear. "You know…usually bad girls are punished. Should I punish you?" he asked huskily, bringing his hand up and pulling the ties at the top of her uniform. Then he began to untie her vest slowly, awaiting her answer.

"Yes," she answered too quickly, feeling her stomach drop. What was she saying?! She should be rejecting him and his gestures. "I mean…" she began, biting down on her lower lip, but the second his fingers touched her flesh she felt her mind was lost again.

He pushed more of her vest aside, so that he could lift her black undershirt slightly in order to trace her scar. Then he trailed his lips along her neck. "And how should I punish you? Should I make you scream?" he asked once he reached her ear again.

She nodded slowly, arching against his wanted touch. She pressed her hips against his, getting a clear picture of just how gifted the Uchiha was. He pressed her further into the tree and licked the shell of her ear, making her gasp. "Too bad you'll just have to wait. The water should still be warm enough for you to bathe. Think of me while you do, you naughty girl." He said, pulling away with a smirk. Then he was next to his clothes in an instant. He picked them up and disappeared, deciding to get dressed somewhere else. If he stayed near her any longer he wouldn't be able to control himself, especially since he was naked and she was already half undressed.

She slumped to the ground, shaking. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would give out at any moment from overworking. She placed her hand over her heart and let her held in tears slide down her face. How dare he make her feel this way! He had hurt her so badly, and yet her body reacted to everything he did as if he'd never wronged her. "Stupid Uchiha." She mumbled, slowly getting up. She went over to the spring and began to strip her clothes off. Once she was bare she stepped into the steaming water and let out a grateful sigh. It was so nice to finally relax.

She sunk into the water and then yelled out in shock when she heard someone approach. Taka looked down at her with an annoyed expression on her face. "What?" she demanded, beginning to pull off her clothes. "Akito-sama told me to stay with you and make sure no one attacked you or kidnapped you." She wasn't embarrassed by her body, she had a very nice figure. Natsumi instantly became jealous of all the time this girl must have gotten to have with a naked Akito.

Taka slipped into the water, leaning against the opposite wall that Natsumi was against. "What exactly is your relationship with Akito-sama anyways?" she asked, giving the pink haired girl an annoyed look.

"Relationship?" Natsumi blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Akito-sama treats you differently. It's obvious to anyone with eyes that there's something between you two. And Tora has some stupid idea that Akito-sama is in love with you." She said, beginning to bathe.

Natsumi let out a deep breath. "Well he is. I think, well he was a while ago supposedly."

"I don't see why. It's not like you care about him, that much is obvious. You just tease him with your body, and then leave. If _I_ were lucky to be in your position I'd gladly give myself to him. I mean, have you seen his body? It makes a girl wonder what lies underneath those clothes." She said, beginning to wash her long brown hair.

The pink haired girl stared at the woman, all previous jealousy gone. So she _was_ the only one who had seen Akito naked. "What I feel for Akito is nothing short of complicated. I _did_ love him." She explained, sinking lower into the water. "But then I confessed to him and he left me in our bed alone without as much as a reply. I slowly began to lose it. And then he tried to kill my brother." She sighed and leaned against the hot rocks. "And it wouldn't be teasing if he didn't want it so bad." She snapped a little spitefully. "Oh and by the way, I just saw what was underneath. And when I saw all of him, he slammed me against a tree and started to undress me, so if you want to talk about teasing, why don't you go scold him." She glared, pointing off towards the camp.

Taka stared wide-eyed and open mouthed. "You saw Akito-sama naked and you didn't jump him?! Are you stupid?!" she asked.

"I am _not_ stupid!" Natsumi yelled, standing up and crossing her arms over her breasts. "Akito lost his chance to ever have my body in that way. He's the stupid one. He ruined all the love I gave him and threw it aside, realizing his feelings for me a little too late. So just shut up!" she screamed, feeling her tears forming. She lowered back down and submerged herself in the water, running her fingers through her hair and washing all the blood out. Once she was sure her hair was clean she came up and stepped out of the water, noting that Taka was staring wide eyed at her. But what she didn't notice was that she was staring at the scar on her hip. Natsumi grabbed the towel Akito had left behind and dried her body quickly, getting dressed and walking off before his annoying teammate could ask any more questions.

Akito had just finished heating up some stew when she made her way back to camp. He was dressed in a clean uniform, and his hair just a little damp. He turned to her and held out a bowl. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No." she said harshly, walking past him and off into the woods. She disappeared between the trees and was gone. Tora and Kurami stared after her.

"What's up with her?" Kurami asked, getting a shrug from the blonde man.

"I'll go see." Akito replied, setting down the bowl and going after her. When he caught up he put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to halt. "Are you okay?" he asked, giving her a confused look.

She jerked away from him and pulled away. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone okay? I want to be by myself for a little bit." She turned her back to him once more and walked off, shivering. Her wet hair was sticking to her face and she tried to brush it back. She was freezing, but she couldn't stand to be around him right now.

He watched her walk away, a sad look on his face. Damn, he had messed things up once again because he couldn't control himself. Angry at himself, he turned and walked back to camp, ignoring everyone's questioning gazes. He went straight to his tent and entered it. Then he sat down and began to sharpen his sword. It helped calm him and gave him time to think, since he could sharpen it with his eyes closed. He hoped Natsumi felt better when she came back. It wasn't healthy for her to walk around with wet hair and no cloak, and he didn't want her to get sick. With a sigh he continued to sharpen his weapon, questioning whether or not fate had fun screwing with him.

"Akito-sama?" Taka called, she was standing in front of his tent now and popped her head in. When she saw Natsumi was not there she tried to stop from smiling. "Can I come in? I have to talk to you about something."

"What?" he asked flatly, continuing in his task.

She came in and sat across from him, folding her legs underneath her. "Akito-sama, Natsumi is insane! She's just trying to mess with you. And you will never guess what I saw, that psycho tattooed the Uchiha Crest onto her body! You have to watch out for her. I can just tell she's bad! And she accused you of trying to kill Lord Kazekage!"

His eyes turned to sharingan out of anger, and he paused in his task. "Get. Out." He said, tone becoming murderous.

She went wide eyed and moved quickly but stayed in, though her stance was more than ready to defend herself. "Akito-sama?"

He looked at her then, causing her to avert her gaze out of fear. "Do not speak of what you don't understand. I _did_ try to kill Toshiro. And that is not a tattoo, it's a scar. Something that some sick man did to her when I was unable to protect her. Now get. Out." He repeated, a little louder.

Taka went wide eyed, a wave of guilt washing over her. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. Fear was overriding her want of making sure he knew how sorry she was. She left and ran right into Tora. She gasped loudly and looked up at him.

"What's wrong? I heard Akito yell."

She shook her head and cried, "I said something awful about Natsumi and he freaked out. I didn't know though. I saw the tattoo…I mean I thought it was a tattoo but it's a-"

"A scar." A dark voice interrupted her. She turned and looked to the source, seeing Natsumi standing on the edge of the campsite.

"Scar?" Kurami asked, looking around at everyone.

Natsumi pulled the string from her vest and lifted it, along with her black shirt, revealing the crisp lines of her only flaw. "It's a scar I got when I was seventeen. I didn't want to marry the Mizukage's son and so they kidnapped me. I refused because I was in love with Akito and they knew it. So when one of them came in and tried to rape me, he took a kunai and branded my flesh with his symbol so he could feel good about taking something from an Uchiha. Are you happy now? That you know my history?" the sand princess glared hatefully.

They all stared at her, unsure of what to say. Akito came out of his tent then, his sharingan still activated. He looked at the group, taking in the situation. Then he looked at his subordinates. "Don't you all have something to do?" he asked with a glare, walking off and into the woods.

They immediately scattered and started focusing on the tasks that they had been assigned. Natsumi watched Akito leaved and followed him silently. She would not be left with them, and she wanted to make sure he was okay. The fact his sharingan were activated wasn't a good sign. "Akito," she spoke up after a while of walking behind him.

He stopped immediately, his shoulders stiff. "What?" he asked without turning around, his voice less harsh than it was before.

"Are you okay?" she asked. She knew he wasn't, but she wanted to know why.

"I'll be fine. I just need a moment." He answered.

She walked up to him and lifted up her hands. She contemplated her actions for a moment but wrapped her arms tightly around his waist from behind. He relaxed into her embrace instantly, and brought his hands up to cover hers. He let out a sigh, and stood there silently, enjoying her touch. She rested her head on his back and tightened her grip. It was nice for once to be the one to comfort him when he was upset. "What has you so irritated?" she asked, breathing in his fresh smell.

"I just…don't like to be reminded of my mistakes." He said softly. "Especially when they concern you, and are brought up by ignorant idiots." He continued, his voice getting a bit harsher in the end.

"Was it about my scar?" she asked softly, opening her hands and pressing her palms flat on his stomach, trying to give him a comforting rub.

"I should have gotten there sooner. If I had been better…if I had been stronger…I could've gotten there in time to stop that bastard." He said in a broken whisper.

She shut her eyes slowly and let out a deep sigh. "There was nothing you could do. I told you to stop blaming yourself." She let out a breath and then pulled away from him, grabbing his arm and making him face her. "I don't blame you for that." She said once more, reaching up and holding his face. "You got there. And that was more than enough."

"But…you were hurt. And then I went and tried to kill Toshiro…and now you hate me and are stuck with the symbol for my clan on your body forever. Constantly reminding you of all the pain I've caused you." He told her, all of his past pain evident in his gaze.

She searched his eyes, frowning at his words. She didn't hate him. It almost broke her heart again to see him in so much pain. "Akito…I don't hate you...I just…can't be with you…you broke my heart and I don't ever want to hurt like that again."

His eyes finally faded to dark green, his anger being replaced with sadness. "I understand. I really do. It just bothers me that I did something so horrible and will never be able to fix it. And then Taka went and insulted you, and I will _not_ tolerate it." He said.

"Don't be," she said with a small smile. "And don't worry about my scar. You were the last man I will ever love. So no one will be offended by this," she lowered one of her hands and traced her scar. "No one will ever receive feelings like I had for you."

He brought a hand up and stroked her cheek tenderly. "The same goes for you. I have only ever loved you Natsumi, and it will stay that way."

She felt her heart flutter and knew it was time to end this moment before she did something she might regret. She pulled away from him and let her hands fall to her sides. "I know," she lowered her head. She didn't want to cry. She had loved him so much, and at one time, those words would have made her the happiest girl in the world. But now it only brought her pain to know what she could have had.

He held in a sigh, knowing that the moment was gone. Then he looked around and noticed that it had gotten dark. "We should head back. I want to leave early in the morning so that we make good time." He said reluctantly.

"Yeah," she nodded and looked back up at him. She offered him her hand, which he gladly took. They walked back to camp together in silence, and when they got back, only Tora was out.

"Hey guys." He smiled with a wave.

"Hey. Who's taking first watch?" Akito asked.

"Taka. I think she's afraid of you right now." Tora said with a small smile.

Satisfaction passed through Akito's eyes then. "She should be. We're going to bed. I want to leave early tomorrow." He said.

"Yes Teichou. I'll tell them and take second watch." Tora replied, standing to go tell Kumori.

Akito took Natsumi into the tent and immediately began to undress. He was tired, and wanted nothing more than to sleep with Natsumi in his arms. She did the same and removed her vest that was already half undone from her demonstration. She tossed it to the ground and then removed her shoes. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to make it look as controlled as possible.

After removing his shoes and hidden weapons, Akito got into his sleeping bag and held it open so that she could join him.

She kneeled down and took her place beside him, letting him lie down first and then curled against his side. She really wanted to be back in a warm place, she was so tired of being freezing all the time. "Goodnight Akito."

"Goodnight." He sighed, bringing his arms around her. They went to sleep then, both anxious to get out of the snow as soon as possible.


	5. Fight

**Tempest**

_Chapter Five_

-Fight-

When they got back to the village Akito and Natsumi went straight to the Hokage Tower. He opened the door and walked in, instantly being confronted by an angry redhead.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Gaara shouted at the top of his lungs, shoving Akito aside and glaring down at his un-phased daughter. He looked over and gave Akito a nod. "Nice to see you Akito." He turned back to Natsumi and focused a threatening glare. "You better have a damn good explanation as to where you've been for the past couple days."

The pink haired woman glared up at her father, crossing her arms to establish the challenge. "I'm twenty-four years old Dad. I don't _need_ your permission to do anything." She was probably the only person alive who would ever stand against Sabaku no Gaara, except for Sakura, that is.

"That's beside the point. You broke into an off limits rooms, stole information, and left the village to God knows where! What if you had died?!" he didn't back off, since this was absolutely intolerable behavior.

"Maybe they should have better security, cause' it was pretty damn easy." She countered, earning a snarl from her father.

"She found my Anbu team and joined us in our mission to Snow." Akito said, having just handed over the mission report to Shuhei.

Gaara seemed to calm down for a fraction of a second. "Well if you were with Akito, I'm sure she was perfectly safe. Good job boy," he said, giving Akito a respectful nod.

"What the heck Dad?! Akito is not my babysitter! I don't need someone to protect me." Natsumi glared up at him, receiving all his anger in return. Gaara grabbed her wrist and the two disappeared in an angry swarm of sand, something about finding Sakura and seeing what she had to say about it being all the other occupants in the room heard.

Shuhei let out a whistle. "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn." Then he looked at Akito. "I don't really care. As long as the mission was a success and I don't have to deal with any of that crap I'm fine with it. Take the next few days off, you deserve it."

"Thanks. And stop saying that word. You know it upsets your mother." Akito said, leaving the office.

He was walking down the street when he felt a familiar chakra draw near. Holding in a curse, he turned to be face to face with his annoying ex-teammate.

"Hey Akito! Was there any youth to be found where your mission was located?" Ken asked, smiling brightly.

"No. Now go away." Akito answered, resuming his walk to his house. Ken only followed, not taking the hint, as usual.

"I was just wondering if you know where Natsumi-chan is. I want to ask her to go on a date with me."

The Uchiha halted immediately and glared at the green clad man. "No, she is with her father. And you can't ask her to go on a date."

Ken looked confused. "You mean you have claimed her?"

"Yes. I have. Haven't we already discussed this?" he asked, walking away again.

Ken only followed. "Last I heard you betrayed her and she no longer wanted your attention."

Having been reminded of his past, once again, Akito grew angry. His glare intensified and he swiftly turned on Ken. "That doesn't matter. She bears the symbol of my clan and is now forever bound to _me_."

"You cannot claim someone who doesn't wish it. No matter what you say I am going to ask Natsumi-chan to go on a date with me. She and I are destined to be married and have exotic, youthful children together." The bushy haired man declared.

Akito kicked him across the face swiftly, knocking him onto the nearby training field. Then he had him pinned against a tree by the throat. "I have said this once, and I will say it again. You will _not_ touch her."

Ken broke Akito's chokehold and attempted to sweep his feet out from under him. They broke into a full on taijutsu battle then, each performing their own series of punches and kicks, successfully blocking the other's attacks. Even though he was upset, Akito refused to activate his sharingan or use any jutsu. It wasn't fair, since Ken couldn't use either. "You cannot say who can and can't touch Natsumi-chan." Ken said during a pause.

Akito moved quicker than even Ken could see, and instantly had him pinned to the ground, face down in the dirt and a kunai on the back of his throat. He tightened his hold on the odd man, making sure that he wouldn't be able to break it. "Yes I can. Natsumi is _mine_ to touch, nobody else's. If you so much as _suggest_ taking her anywhere, I will kill you." He threatened.

Suddenly rough sand wrapped around both Akito's wrists and ankles, jerking him off the energetic leaf ninja. He was then slammed against a wall, cracking it and chipping some of the paint. His now red gaze was met with infuriated light jade. "What are you doing?!" Natsumi screamed.

He deactivated his sharingan, surprised that it had turned on. "I'm defending you." He said simply.

"From what?!"

"From Ken and his unwanted youthfulness." He said, rolling his eyes. She should know this by now, it had happened often enough.

Her angry gaze didn't ease, and she didn't say anything. The silence was starting to bother him. "I don't need you to protect me. I can take care of myself and you damn well know if Ken asked me on a date I would say no. What I said on our mission remains true. You were the last."

"Natsumi-chan!" Ken gasped holding the area over his heart. "I could show you the best time of your life! I could satisfy every need you might have."

She glared back at the Lee-look-alike and made his smile fall straight from his face. "Shut up Ken. I do not wish to be satisfied by anyone other than this stupid Uchiha. But he blew it! So my growing sexual tension is all his fault!" now she was pissed, Ken freaked her out and Akito was overbearing as always.

Akito's eyes widened. "You have growing sexual tension?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Her furious gaze focused back on Akito. "I'm twenty-four years old Akito. I was in love with you for twelve years and don't pretend like we didn't have sexual moments. For God's sake I saw you naked and you started undressing me. I would have _liked_ to have sex at least once in my life. My parents do it all the time and they're getting old now!" she yelled, pacing around now.

Ken's eyes were the size of the moon. There was so much youth right here in this area, he was overjoyed. Akito just made a look of disgust. "I really didn't need to know that." He said.

The sand dropped him and she gave him an irritated look, "That's not the point." She seethed, turning her back to him and walking over to Ken. "I'm sorry if he hurt you. If he ever does anything stupid like this again please tell me."

"Then I will be telling you quite often Natsumi-chan for Akito does stupid things all the time." Ken said with a bright smile.

"Well…things that pertain to this situation." She corrected, not wanting to have Ken finding her every few hours and telling her something Akito did that might or might not be stupid. Ken took both Natsumi's hands in his and pulled her close, making an alarmed look come across her face.

"My dearest, lovely Natsumi-chan. If you are craving a physical need I would be more than happy to please you. I would love to hear your beautiful youthful screams!" he smiled brightly, giving her a wink. She tried to pull her hands from his, now regretting getting even three feet near this weirdo.

Akito was next to her instantly, prying Ken's hands off her hurtfully. "What did I say about touching?"

"Natsumi-chan said that she didn't need you to defend her." Ken said, yanking his hands out of the Uchiha's.

Akito scoffed. "Clearly she didn't think that statement through enough."

"Just stop!" she yelled getting both men's attention. She glared at both of them and moved closer to Akito's side. "Ken, I don't want to date you. I don't want to have sex with you. If I ever did have sex with someone it would be with Akito. Alright? Now go away, you're starting to make me uncomfortable." She told him, successfully making him give up. For the time being.

"You shouldn't say things like that." Akito said, watching as Ken walked away, completely dejected.

Natsumi gave him a confused look. "Say things like what?" she asked.

"Things that make me think I still have a chance with you." He said, giving her a serious look. Then he resumed his walk home. He wanted to shower, change, and meditate. Badly.

She watched him leave, a frown playing on her features. "Fine, I'll make sure I don't do anything that might get your hopes up." She said, turning away from him and walking off in the opposite direction. She didn't want to be here anymore. She wanted to be home in Suna where she could lead her Anbu and hopefully die.


	6. Festival

**Tempest**

_Chapter Six_

-Festival-

"My dearest little flower aren't you going to the festival tonight?" Sakura asked, walking past her lounging daughter, who was lying on the couch in the hotel suite.

Natsumi stared up at her mother, who was dressed in a traditional kimono. It was a pale green, with white star bursts scattered over it, her hair done up in a beautiful bun. "What festival?" she hadn't heard anything about it, but then again for the past two days she had been sealed up in their hotel. Gaara walked out from their room, dressed in a man's kimono that was black with red abstract squares every now and then.

"It's Konoha's annual festival. It's actually pretty interesting and enjoyable." He said, offering his arm to his wife, who took it happily.

"Oh…well if I get bored I might go." She sighed, not wanting to be social.

Sakura glanced over towards Satomi's bedroom door and called out for her eldest daughter. "Satomi, sweetie, are you almost ready?"

"Yeah, yeah." The older twin walked out. Her hair was pinned up with decorative chopsticks, with charms dangling from the ends. Her kimono was white with cherry blossom petals blowing around the edges. "Let's go."

The three headed for the door about to leave, "Natsumi we're going to have dinner with Yuki in about an hour. You should at least try and come to that. We got you a kimono in case you change your mind!" Sakura said, giving her daughter a beautiful smile that had not been repaid in years.

"Okay." She groaned, grabbing a couch pillow and throwing it at them. "Just leave!" she rolled her eyes and turned on her stomach. The rest of her family left then, and Natsumi grumbled. She was kind of tired of sitting around the room all day, and she had already read all the books she and her sister brought.

With great effort Natsumi shoved herself up from the couch and went to the bathroom, getting a quick shower before she started getting ready. Once she was done with that, she sat in the bathroom in nothing but a towel. She stared in the mirror, running her hands through her short hair. There wasn't much she could do with it, but it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone. She didn't care what Akito thought anymore, and the fact that he didn't want to be around her was made painfully clear a few days ago. She hadn't seen him since, and was kind of bothered that she cared. She didn't love him anymore, she nodded, trying to assure herself.

She brushed her hair so it would dry nice and straight. She left the bathroom and walked into her room, seeing the kimono her mother had gotten for her. It started out white in some areas and slowly faded into a light and then a darker pink. Red flowers decorated the kimono, not one matching another. She dried herself off and slid on her black underwear and matching black bra. She picked up the kimono and put it on, wrapping it properly and tying the obi tightly around her thin waist. She looked down, saw a matching fan and picked it up, letting it fall open. She actually felt a small smile grace her face.

Once she was dressed, she went back into the bathroom and fixed her now dried hair so that it looked perfect. She did her makeup flawlessly, only using the basics, since she wasn't into that kind of beauty. She slipped on some black flip flops and left the hotel. She didn't really want to see her family for dinner, so she headed straight for the festival, knowing she would meet them there eventually.

It was already sunset by the time she reached the festive streets decorated beautifully with ribbon and paper lanterns. Booths were set up, offering all kinds of things. Natsumi walked around, soaking in the beauty of the event. She opened her fan, covering her mouth and stopped at a booth selling coy fish. "Oh wow." They were large, beautiful fish, swimming around together gracefully.

"Why are you out here by yourself?" A deep voice asked her from behind.

Natsumi went wide eyed. _It couldn't be_, she thought. She recognized that voice from seven years ago. She turned around, expecting to see a stranger, but only met with sad green eyes. "Akito?" she blinked, keeping her fan in place and fanning herself as if she were hot. He was dressed in a solid navy blue men's kimono, with random groups of red sharingan shapes framed by hexagons on it.

"Hey." He said. Then he took a sweep of her body. "You look beautiful."

She gave him a doubtful look, "Thanks." She said, still hiding behind her decorative fan. "You look…very handsome."

"So…do you want to look around with me? I can show you all the good booths to visit. My father makes me come here every year." He offered, the corner of his mouth tilting up a bit.

"Sure…why not." She looked down at the coy fish once more and then followed him, gazing around at the booths.

He wasn't very happy with her answer, but chose to ignore it. As long as he got the pleasure of her company, he was happy. Sort of. "Is there anything in particular that you want to see? There will be a fireworks show near midnight." He said, trying to make conversation. Why was she being so uptight?

"That sounds kind of fun." She shrugged. She liked fireworks, but didn't get to see them that often in Suna. "And no…I've never been to something like this…so whatever you think is interesting. I'm kind of hungry though."

He took her to the section of the village that was being used for the food stalls. There were many vendors with booths set up, each housing its own unique kind of food. "Pick whatever you want. I'll pay for it." He said, gesturing with his hands to the area.

She closed her fan and let her hand fall to her side, finally revealing her face to him. She was still thinking about how much Akito had sounded like the stranger that had helped her when she'd been kidnapped those long years ago. "How about some dango?" she asked.

"Sounds good to me." He said, taking her hand and leading her into the crowd. He led her over to a stall that was being handled by an elderly man. He looked up at them and smiled.

"Ah! What can I get for you and your date Uchiha-sama?" he asked.

"I would like some strawberry dango please." Akito said. Then he looked down at Natsumi.

"Vanilla please." She gave the man a kind look, choosing not to correct him in his misunderstanding.

He handed them the dango. As Akito moved to pull out his money and the man shook his head. "Oh no. It's on the house. I've never seen Uchiha-sama out with a woman, especially one so fetching. I wish you both happiness." He said. Then he moved on to the next customer.

Akito's eyes had widened a fraction at this. He put his wallet back and took Natsumi's hand once more, walking away. He really wasn't sure what to say about that situation.

"Hm…" she tapped her chin with her fan and then took a bite of one of her treats. "So guess you've only ever had the company of me or Minako."

"Well I can't really stand anyone else. The only other girls in this village are brainless twits whose only dreams are to bear my children. Not exactly the type of people I want to be around." Akito said, beginning to eat his food as well.

"I thought that's what Uchihas were all about?" she gave him a look, pulling off another dango from her stick and tossing it into her mouth.

"Ch. That's what the ignorant believe. My father's only goals were to become strong to avenge his clan by killing his brother, avenge his brother by killing Madara, and continue the clan by producing an heir. He did all of that, and is now happily completing missions for the village. I, on the other hand, am nothing like him, and refuse to be." Akito said bitterly. He still feared becoming like his father, especially after what had happened five years ago.

"Hmmm…" she hummed and looked forward, biting off the last of her dango and throwing the stick in a nearby trash can. "Well…I guess that's good. My mom says Sasuke was a jerk and did bad things. Obviously they were bad since it cost him her."

He paused in his eating. Then he threw away the rest of his treat, having lost his appetite. He _was_ just like his father. He had done something bad, and it had cost him Natsumi. She looked at him and blinked, wondering what his sudden change in mood was from. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you insist on lying to me?" she flipped out her fan and began to cool herself down, keeping her jade eyes locked on him.

"Why do you insist on being so persistent? I don't want to talk about it." He said, putting his hands into the large sleeves of his kimono.

She stopped their walk, glaring over at him. She hadn't realized they had gone off from the festival and were now on one of Konoha's many bridges. "So you would rather me not care at all? Because I can do that. I can just walk away and go back to my hotel room and go to sleep."

"No, I want you to care! I just…don't understand why you care so much…" he trailed off, angry at how easily she could upset him. He hated how she affected his moods.

"Because that's just what I do! You stupid Uchiha!" she growled, running her hand through her hair and grabbing onto it tightly. "It doesn't bring me pleasure to see you sad or upset. It just doesn't! So forgive me for trying to make you feel better."

"Fine. You're forgiven. Feel better now?" he asked, actually crossing his arms now.

She went wide eyed, shock all over her face. "You asshole!" she yelled, turning away from him and walking off. She knew coming out to this stupid thing was a bad idea.

"I may be an asshole, but at least I'm not disillusioning myself into believing that I'm a princess!" he yelled after her, smirking in triumph.

She stopped right then, snapping her fan closed. She turned towards him slowly, an icy glare in place. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You. Are. _Not_. A. Princess." He said slowly, as if she were stupid.

Her eye twitched. "I _am_ a princess. _I_ am the most attractive and kind princess that there ever was. I am _the_ epitome of beauty and charm and…and everything good in life!" she informed him, stomping her foot for emphasis.

"That's just an opinion. Come to me when you have proof." He said, turning and walking away from her.

Natsumi reached into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out three kunai, throwing them at Akito's head swiftly. She really hoped they hit their target. He spun around in a circle and caught all three, throwing them back at her. "Are you really going to go there? I'm out of your league when it comes to kunai." He said with a smirk.

Her angry glare didn't let up, and she didn't move to avoid the kunai. Her sand rose defensively and stopped all the projectiles. "Are you now? Last time I checked…I was out of your league." She lowered her stance and disappeared, suddenly beside him and slamming her hand down on a known pressure point, sending a jolt of pain throughout his shoulder.

He grimaced at the pain but didn't make a sound, not wanting to appear weak in front of her. He knocked her hand off of his shoulder. He was hesitant to attack her, because he didn't want to hurt her. He had done so before and he would never forgive himself. So he resigned himself to stand there and take her fury, no matter what pain that brought.

"You are just…UGH…I can't believe you! Do you enjoy torturing me and tearing me down?! You are such a jerk Uchiha Akito. You don't hear me saying mean things about you even after all the things you've done. You're just angry and bitter!" she pointed at him and then walked off towards the other side of the bridge, staring down at the water.

"At least I didn't become angry and bitter over the years. I was born that way. And let me tell you, the bitterness is not attractive. At all." He said, turning away again to go home. He had had enough of this festival.

"Fine!" she yelled, refusing to face him. She grabbed onto the railing and let her watery eyes flow. She knew she was ugly now, but it was all his stupid fault for making her this way. She released the metal and cried silently into her hands. He was so mean and all he did was hurt her healing heart.

He heard her tears and instantly felt guilty. Turning, he walked over to her. "Natsumi…I didn't mean it…" he said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She smacked his hand away and glared at him once more with tear filled eyes, actually crying in front of him for the first time in a while. "If you didn't mean it you wouldn't have said it!"

He lowered his hand, slightly hurt. "Does that mean you meant what you said? About me being an asshole?" he asked softly.

"You are!" she sobbed out, trying to get a hold on herself. She couldn't believe how broken she felt. "You're just mean! You call me bad names and tell me I'm bitter! But it's not my fault! I haven't smiled since you hurt me!" she screamed, going wide eyed in her admission.

His eyes widened as well, and a torn expression came across his face then. He didn't know…hadn't realized…that she had been hurt _that_ badly. "I really have become like him. I'm sorry." He whispered. Before anything else could happen he disappeared in a puff of smoke, not wanting to have a mental breakdown in front of her.

She sunk to her knees and cried into her hands, not caring if anyone saw her. She felt heartbroken all over again. How could he still do this to her? She didn't love him! She had forced herself not to love him even when she felt like she was getting close.

It was a good three hours before she moved again, slowly getting up from her fetal position. She didn't feel anything anymore. She was too tired from crying out all her sorrow. She started towards her hotel, not caring about the looks she got. She knew she looked terrible and surprisingly she didn't care. At all. When she returned to their room, she was relieved to see her family was still gone. She threw the fan aside and started undressing, throwing the beautiful kimono to the ground. She went into her room and slammed the door shut. She didn't even bother getting pajama's on. She wanted to go to sleep and hopefully stop breathing long enough to kill herself.

Why was it so hard to hate someone who had hurt her? Why did it matter that she had loved him? Key word being _had_. She shut her eyes tightly and allowed herself to cry once more, until she fell asleep.


	7. Fan Girls

**Tempest**

_Chapter Seven_

-Fan Girls-

Akito sighed as he finished making breakfast. His father was completely hopeless when it came to cooking, so if he didn't make anything they would just go out to eat. When Akito was younger he would go over to Minako's house and learn from Hinata. But just because he knew how to cook didn't mean he liked to.

He sat the omelets down on the table and went to finish the bacon. Once that was done he prepared two glasses of water. Just as he was placing the glasses on the table his father walked in and silently sat down at the head. Akito sat across from him, and they began to eat in silence.

He would never admit it, but the silence bothered Akito. He was used to the chatter of Minako and her family. But since Minako had moved to Suna to live with Toshiro, and Shuhei and Yuki had moved out and were getting married, the Uzumaki house just wasn't the same.

Sasuke let out a small sigh and put down his fork. Damn. That meant he was going to speak. Akito did the same and began to prepare himself for whatever was going to come.

"So…you got into a fight with Lee's kid the other day." Sasuke said calmly.

"Hn." Was all he said in reply.

"And you had a public argument with that Sabaku girl at the festival last night." The elder Uchiha continued. Akito chose not to respond to that. "Would you like to tell me why?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow.

"It's nothing of consequence." Akito said. He didn't want his father to know that it was about his feelings for Natsumi.

"I see. You should not let your emotions show in such a way. It is weak." Was all he said. Sometimes Akito hated how his father seemed to know everything even when he hadn't told him all of the details. In fact, he and his father rarely spoke these days, both being too caught up in their own ninja careers.

Akito's hand clenched around his fork. He knew that showing emotion was weak, but he couldn't help it sometimes. He didn't want to appear like a robot to the rest of the world the way his father did.

"Yes Father." He eventually ground out.

"Especially if it's about some pink haired trollop. That invites nothing but disaster, and she is not worth it." Sasuke told him, continuing to eat his omelet.

Akito put his fork down and stood. He had lost his appetite, and didn't want to hear the rest of what his father had to say. He walked over to the sink and began to wash his plate.

"Akito." Sasuke said, his voice stern now.

"Hm?" Akito replied tersely.

"Stay away from her. She will only distract you and make you weak. And I will _not_ tolerate it." His father said, taking a drink of his water.

That was the last straw. His father didn't know what he was talking about. Things were different between him and Natsumi than what his father had with Sakura. "I do not care what you think. She is worth _everything_ to me, Father. But I don't expect you to understand that." Akito said before leaving the house. He needed to let off some steam. Now. So he headed over to the Hyuuga District, intent on asking Ryo if he wanted to spar in taijutsu. He was seventeen now, and had become just as skilled as his parents. And Akito didn't want to ask Ken, because if they fought he would kill him, just to get him out of the way and away from Natsumi.

* * *

Natsumi walked slowly down the streets of Konoha. She was tired of lying in bed all day, and wanted to get some fresh air. She just hoped she didn't run into Akito. She didn't think her heart could take anything more from him. It had been a mistake to come here, the other times when she had seen Akito he was only in Suna for a few days and it was the same when she came to Konoha. But she was here for a while now. She couldn't bury herself in her work, or go on missions to try and take her mind off the Uchiha.

"There she is!" a shrill voice screamed from behind the pink haired woman.

"Huh?" Natsumi blinked and turned her head to glance behind her. There was a mass of nearly twenty teenage girls. That was when they charged. The sand shinobi went wide eyed, "What the heck?!" she turned around and ran forward. What had she done to them?!

"That's Sabaku no Natsumi!" one girl yelled.

"She's the one that's keeping Akito-sama all to herself!"

Natsumi screamed and pulled on her short locks. "You have got to be kidding me!" she sped forward, losing them instantly hearing they angry cries as they tried to follow her. She took to the roofs and weaved in and out of the buildings. She really didn't want to deal with psychotic fan girls.

She landed behind a fruit cart and pressed her back against the wood. She wanted to make sure she had lost them.

"Hello Natsumi-chan!" Ken yelled happily from right beside her.

She shrieked and fell to the side, crawling away from his odd presence. "Good God Ken! What is wrong with you?!" she pressed her hand to her heart, feeling the chaotic beating. He walked up to her and offered her a hand. She took it reluctantly and he helped her up. She dusted her clothes off and sighed.

"So what are you doing beautiful Natsumi-chan?" he asked, keeping a tight grip on her hand. She attempted to pull it free and finally slipped from his grasp.

"Running from Akito's fan girls. They're trying to kill me. Again." She sighed.

Ken stood tall and hit his chest with his fist. "I shall help you!"

"No!" she went wide eyed and shook her head. "No…no, that's okay Ken. I'm totally fine."

"I FOUND HER!" She heard once more and looked over, seeing a new smaller group.

"Oh God!" Natsumi shouted and took off again. "Bye Ken!" she waved over her shoulder and disappeared. Where could she go where these little freaks couldn't find her? Her eyes went wide with realization. Training fields! She smirked and dashed towards them, pushing off the ground and bounding through the buildings. The faster she got there the better. It didn't take her any time at all, and when she slid to a stop she gasped, hiding behind a tree. Just a bit away was a group of ten girls, maybe in their twenties, hiding behind a bush and staring onto the training field.

Natsumi looked around the other side of the tree to see what had caught their attention. Her heartbeat picked up painfully. She grabbed the area and shut her eyes tightly. It was Akito. He was training with Ryo, Neji and Tenten's son, and he was shirtless. She tried to regulate her breathing and keep in her tears. She still hadn't recuperated from the night before.

"Just look at the way the sweat makes his muscles shine." One of the girls said adoringly.

Another girl sighed. "Yeah. I'm so glad he decided to train out here today."

"Me too. Although his shirts _are_ pretty tight, I just love it when the weather is hot enough for him to take it off. He has such an amazing chest." The first girl said.

A third girl giggled. "Well if his chest is so amazing, I wonder how amazing other parts of him are?" she wondered. This question caused the entire group to giggle and sigh dreamily.

Natsumi's eye twitched. She didn't care if officially she and Akito were nothing more than friends, or the fact that he had made her cry last night. She _hated_ when people talked about him that way. His body was forever hers to ogle and fawn over. He belonged to her just as much as she belonged to him. Steeling her trembling heart, she got up and stomped over to the immature adults who dare look at what was off limits. "Excuse me you little stalkers! You better make like a leaf and blow on home, because this whole scene is restricted." She glared hatefully, placing herself between them and the training Akito.

"You don't own Akito-sama. You're not even from this village." One of the girls said snidely.

"Yeah." Another one's squeaky voice chimed in. "You only upset Akito-sama! Why else would he be training so vigorously?!"

"It's because he's frustrated! If you don't even know that, then you don't deserve to try and claim him." A third spoke up, glaring at Natsumi.

The pink haired woman rolled her eyes, setting her hands on her hips. "Really now? I don't? Yet he's obsessed with me and pretty much claimed me himself. That gives me all the right in the world."

"Lies!" they all yelled together.

Natsumi sighed. She hated how often she had to do this. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it, fully revealing her flat stomach and her scar. They went wide eyed and leaned forward, seeing it was not a tattoo. "There." She adjusted her shirt, only half of the scar showing now. Before she could really comprehend what the creepers were doing, she heard them shout out a battle cry before they tackled her to the ground.

"How dare you mess with Akito-sama!"

"He deserves a woman that caters to his every need!"

"All you do is defy him!"

Akito, having heard this going on, was over there in an instant. He pulled Natsumi from the pile and held her to his body. The fan girls looked up at him in shock.

"Akito-sama!"

"What are you doing here?!"

"Why are you touching that trash?!"

Akito just glared at them all, his sharingan activated. "Do not touch her ever again, or I will kill you." Then he looked over at Ryo. "I guess we're done here today. Next time we'll just use your family's facilities."

"Fine with me. I have to go meet my father anyways. See you." The Hyuuga heir said with a wave.

Watching him leave, Akito looked down at Natsumi, who was still pressed to his chest. "Want to go somewhere?" he asked, completely ignoring the sputtering girls.

She blinked and stared up at him. She could feel her heart starting to hurt again. She hated when he was so nice to her after being so cruel. "Yeah, maybe the hot springs. You kinda stink." She said teasingly. At least she could still appear unaffected by him. Well…she thought she could.

He smirked down at her. "Are you sure it's not just an attempt to see me naked? Again?" he teased. This caused all of the fan girls to scream in outrage and disbelief.

"Of course not. I only suggested it because I _have_ seen you naked before and now we won't have to deal with that awkwardness when we go into the unisex spring." She pointed out, using all her mental power to keep the dark red blush that was creeping up her cheeks. The vivid memories of his naked body pressed against hers, every feel. She shook her head, breaking the thought process as she looked back up at him. "So let's go."

As they walked along to the hot spring Akito couldn't help but smirk to himself. She was so cute when embarrassed. "So, does this mean I get to see you naked? You know, so it's not awkward for me and all." He asked, somehow keeping a straight face.

She huffed and looked off to the side, not willing to show him the darker pink she turned. "You won't be seeing me naked. We'll have towels on. Well at least, I will. You tend to run around in the snow naked, so God knows what you do when it isn't cold."

"You'll never know." He said, glancing down at her.

"I eventually find out everything about you Akito." She pointed out, giving him a suspecting look. Finally they had arrived at the hot springs, crossing the bridge and then entering the front where a kind older looking brunette sat doing her nails. She looked up when they came to the desk and smiled.

"How can I help you two? Always nice to see you Akito-chan." She giggled, having known the young Uchiha since he was very little.

"Hn." Was all he said, slightly embarrassed by what she had called him. Especially in front of Natsumi.

"Uh yes." She laughed, trying to stop her amusement. "We want the herbal hot springs."

The woman arched her brow and looked between them. "Together?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" Natsumi asked, crossing her arms.

"Let's just go." Akito said, grabbing Natsumi's arm and leading her towards the room where they could change.

The woman stared after them in shock, but called out, "Have a nice soak. Make sure not to stay in too long."

They entered the small changing room that offered fresh towels. Natsumi, not really caring that he was in there, started to pull off her gloves and her shoes. She set them aside and unbuckled her skirt, sliding it off and throwing it with the rest of her things. Her back was too him, so she was pretty comfortable with getting undressed. She slipped her thumbs into her shorts and pulled them off, then unzipped her shirt. Now left in only her bra and underwear, she unhooked the black lace bra and set it on top of her clothes. She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her body, finally taking off her matching underwear.

Akito tried not to stare, but couldn't help himself. Why did she wear such skimpy underwear? He wanted to ask her, but knew that if he did she would know he'd been staring. When he realized that she was almost done he pulled off the rest of his clothes, not caring if she saw. She'd already seen him naked anyways, and he wasn't ashamed of his body. Then he grabbed his towel and secured it around his waist.

She turned around and faced him, her eyes trailing down his perfectly sculpted chest. God he was so attractive. She let out a long sigh, drifting off into a steamy day dream. She couldn't help it though. His body was just too good not to think about it pressed against her, ripping their towels off, and doing much more than just foreplay. She was snapped from her perfect world when he called her name. "Huh?" she blinked and stared at him.

"You just got really red all of a sudden and looked kind of vacant." He stared at her for a moment, as if waiting for her to explain.

"Come on." She said simply, walking over to him and taking his hand. She pulled him through the door and into the nicely arranged hot springs. She loved hot springs. They made her feel like she was back in Suna and soaking in the healing water their own springs offered.

She released his hand and slowly got into the water, a small gleeful noise escaping her lips. She sank into the water quickly and sighed. "That's great."

He got in after her and exhaled loudly. It had actually been a long time since he had come to the hot springs, having been so busy with his Anbu missions lately. And it was nice that he could come there with her. "Yeah." He agreed, laying his head against the edge and closing his eyes, completely relaxed.

She watched him closely, hating the feeling that was growing in her. She wanted him, really, _really _badly. But she shouldn't. She had to keep herself from loving him, and doing what she wanted would only lead down that path. She tossed her solid guard aside, thanks to the hot water, and moved closer to him. His eyes shot open when she placed herself over him, straddling his waist and holding his face in her hands. "Why do you insist on making things bad between us?" she asked sincerely.

It took him a while to process what she had just asked him. The way she was sitting in his lap was making it difficult for him to think, especially since there were only towels between them. "What do you mean?" he asked, completely confused. All he really wanted to do in that moment was take advantage of her, but he knew that would be wrong.

She gave him an annoyed stare. She hated repeating herself. Slowly, she began to run her hands through his dark hair. "Do you enjoy making me sad? I mean…you say mean things to me, sometimes I know you don't mean it and you're just frustrated, but it still hurts my feelings. I thought you loved me. So it confuses me."

He unconsciously leaned into her touch. "Of course I don't enjoy making you sad. It's just…sometimes you make me so angry, and then I get even angrier that I let myself get angry, if that makes sense. And I do love you, but you said that you couldn't love me, and so sometimes I try to make you hate me. Because if you hate me, then I might be able to live without you." He said, his brow stitched together in slight frustration.

She gripped his hair tightly, pulling him closer to her. Their faces only a lips' distance away. "You're not allowed to hate me." She said seriously. "You can't go back from what we have and had together. Our lives are forever intertwined by everything we've been through…everything we've put each other through. As long as I am breathing, you will love me and you will _never_ be able to live without me."

He just stared at her. "If I am supposed to love you and never be able to live without you, then I expect the same treatment. No more being nice to me the way you used to be and then suddenly distancing yourself. I want all of you Natsumi. And in return, you can have all of me."

"No." she said, pulling away from him and searching his eyes. "I told you that I can't. How can I trust you, when you do these things to me? I don't know if you'll break my heart again. And I can't feel like that again…it almost destroyed me."

He had a strong urge to just leave then, but didn't. It would only hurt her, and he didn't want that. Perhaps it was an Uchiha curse, to never be in a normal relationship and have the woman you want. But Akito didn't want his father's fate to be his own. To find some random woman who didn't know about your past and have a child with her, not marrying her or loving her or anything.

That was when he decided to treat her the way he wanted to. He would show her his love every time he saw her. And hopefully, maybe, she would come to love him again. He wouldn't give up like his father had. "Alright." He said with a nod. "But if you want all of me, you have to take the bad along with the good. I'm not perfect, obviously, and you can't expect me to be." He told her.

She seemed to be looking for the lie in his words, but her fingers played delicately on the back of his neck. "I never thought you were perfect." She smirked, "I just like watching you try to be." She leaned forward then and pressed her lips against his forehead.

He pulled her closer to himself, relishing in her touch. He knew that on some level she still cared about him, even if she wouldn't admit it. And it was those moments when she showed it that he looked forward to. She slowly took his face between her hands again and met his gaze, only seeing his endless green. She leaned against him and then stopped, every muscle in her body tensing. Her face filled with red instantly. Her towel had somehow slipped, and now her bare chest was pressed against his.

His eyes went wide. He had never felt her body like this before. And to be honest, he liked it. A lot. She was so soft, so unlike his own chest, which was hardened with its muscles. So what to do in this situation? He knew he couldn't do anything too sexual, especially after what they had just talked about. It would be completely counterproductive. So instead, he kept his gaze on hers, in order to not be tempted to look down. Which he strongly was.

"Do you want me to close my eyes or something while you fix your towel?" he asked, deciding to be a gentleman.

"Please…" her lip quivered. She looked just like she had when she was little. Embarrassed and ashamed, not the confident Natsumi that paraded herself around these days. When he complied and shut his eyes, she pulled away from him and fixed her towel, making sure it was secure. She felt so self-conscious, something she hadn't felt in a long time. She looked up at him once she was done and touched his face softly, indicating she was finished. She met his dark green gaze once more and actually gave him a true smile. "Thank you…"

He returned her smile, happy to see hers after so many years. Perhaps he was doing something right for once. "You're welcome." He said, gazing at her tenderly. What he wouldn't do to kiss her right now. But things like that would never happen, so he would just have to live off what he remembered from when he was eighteen.

Her expression turned into a look of confusion and then she laughed. "I just smiled." She stated, smiling once more. "If Toshiro were here he would tell me how he was right and I was wrong. Though I suppose it makes sense that the person who stole my smiles would eventually give them back." She poked his cheek to show that she wasn't trying to emotionally attack him.

Akito chuckled. "What can I say? I got tired of being selfish and decided that everyone else needed to be reminded of what true beauty looked like." He said, enjoying their teasing. He was surprised though, that it had been the first time in the last five years that she had smiled. But he was glad that he had been the one to bring it back. He would have to write Toshiro and tell him. He knew it would make the redhead happy.

Her laughing ceased when he had said she was beautiful. She pressed her lips together and set her hands on his shoulders. "You still think I'm beautiful?" she asked seriously, giving him a look that wanted the truth.

He gave her a confused look. "I've always thought you were beautiful."

Her gaze softened, and she felt her guard was slowly melting. But she couldn't do anything about it. Another smile made its way to her face. "My niece says I'm ugly, because I'm so unhappy."

He smiled a small smile at the mention of his niece. "Well what do you expect? She's Toshiro and Minako's child. Of course she's going to say stupid things."

She laughed again, feeling her tense muscles relax even more. She turned around in his lap and sat comfortably with her back against his chest, leaning her body on his. "That's true. She's a freak too you know. It's so irritating. I don't know why Toshiro allows her to get away with her freakish behavior. She has to have five and a half ice cubes in her water. I don't understand what the big deal is." She rolled her eyes, just talking animatedly. "And Toshiro actually cuts an ice cube in half for her. It's just sick."

He actually began to laugh at this news. "Well if he didn't Minako sure as hell wouldn't. Even _she_ wouldn't go that far to make someone happy. But then again, I guess the ice cube thing is both of their faults, since he likes five and she likes six." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. He could get used to this really quickly.

She nodded and subconsciously seemed to snuggle more into his arms. "Yeah…he misses you by the way. Toshiro I mean. He says whenever you come to visit you always come and bother me at the hospital instead of bothering him at the office."

"Well you're nicer to look at than he is." He joked. But the truth was, he didn't visit his friend more often because he wanted to spend as much time with Natsumi as he could before he had to leave. Since he never knew if that would be the last time he would see her.

Natsumi lifted her hands from the water and gasped, "Oh my. Look," she said, lifting her hands and showing him the water wrinkles. "I hadn't realized we were in for so long." She laughed and moved from his lap, holding her towel securely. She went under the water and ran her fingers through her hair. She came up with a loud gasp and sucked in some air. "Much better," she stood then and looked down at him.

He stared at the way her towel hugged her curves. Then he submerged to wet his hair. When he came out if the water he stood and shook his head, causing water droplets to fly everywhere. When he stopped he smiled at her. "Yeah, much better."

"Good," she nodded, stepping out of the water and stretching. "I feel great. Little bit like a prune though." She sighed and walked back into the changing room. She took a dry towel and started with her hair, turning to him and making sure he wasn't facing her. When she saw his back, she smiled and dropped her wet towel to the floor. She dried her body quickly and grabbed her underwear and slid them on, then put on her lacey black bra.

Akito just dropped his towel and grabbed a dry one, beginning to dry off. Once he was done he grabbed his boxers and put them on first. Next were his pants and shirt, and lastly, his gloves and ninja shoes. He turned just as Natsumi was buckling her skirt.

"Ready?" he asked, picking up the towels to put in the hamper.

She pulled on her gloves last and nodded. "Mhm." She followed him out and passed the lady at the front, who was giving them suspicious glances. Once they were outside, she sighed and crossed her arms. "So what now?"

"I have to report to Shuhei and see if he has any missions for me, since my two days off are over. You can come if you want, but will have to stay outside the room, since its 'top secret'" he said, knowing that it wouldn't stop her.

She groaned. "Fine…but no thanks. I've already done enough illegal things in Konoha for one stay. At least that's what my dad says." She sighed and started walking towards her hotel room. "I think I'll just call it a day and see you tomorrow. I'm tired and I really don't want to get followed and attacked by your psycho fan girls." She smirked back at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Later." He said with a wave, walking towards Hokage Tower. Little did the pair know that later would actually turn into much later.


	8. Missing

**Tempest**

_Chapter Eight_

-Missing-

To say that Natsumi was freaking out was a huge understatement. She paced around the front room of their suite, chewing nervously on her nails. "Sweetheart," Sakura spoke up. She was sitting on one of the soft sofas reading a book when her daughter had walked in and started this odd behavior. "What's wrong?"

Natsumi stopped her pacing and looked at her mother, who even at the ripe age of forty-six, was still very beautiful. "Mom, I haven't seen Akito in three days. It's driving me insane! I've looked all over this stupid village for him, but I can't find him anywhere!" she yelled, grabbing her hair and pulling.

"I thought you hated that irritating waste of space." Satomi said lazily as she walked in from the kitchen. She had a bowl of ice cream in her hands and took a seat by her mother, eating a spoonful of the cold treat.

The younger twin glared at her older sister. "He's _not_ a waste of space and I don't hate him. I told you that." She said crossing her arms angrily.

"So you like him again?" Sakura asked, arching her brow.

"No!" she said a bit too quickly. "I mean, no…look it's complicated. I just can't love him alright. He's done too much! That's all!"

Gaara came out from the bedroom and looked around at the room filled with his lovely ladies. "What's wrong? Akito do something 'heinous' again?" the redhead rolled his eyes and took a seat in an open chair. He leaned back and watched Natsumi practically steam.

"You know what Dad, I don't understand why you're on Akito's side! I'm your daughter! You should be on my side! You know what he did! He tried to kill your only son!" she shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

The sand master just rolled his eyes once more, "Yeah. So what? He's not dead now is he? He's fine and so are you. And if we took every little attempt at murder seriously you would have never been born. Isn't that right my love?" Gaara said, looking over at Sakura.

"That is completely different Gaara. You weren't Sasuke and you weren't an asshole…most of the time." She smirked deviously, getting a dark glare from her husband. "The point is, I think good riddance with the Uchiha boy. They are nothing but trouble. Emotional problems out the door."

"Says the psychopath." The redhead sighed, earning himself a glare in return. "I'm just saying. I like him. So that said, just relax and don't sever any options."

Natsumi yelled out again. "We're not talking about options Dad! Akito is gone! And I don't know where he is!"

"So you're worried?" Gaara asked, smirking a bit.

"Well of course I am!" she huffed, glaring down at him. He didn't reply, all he did was grin. "What?" she asked finally.

"Nothing." He shrugged, leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head. "Worry means that you care about him." He pointed out.

The young pink haired woman's face grew red with rage. She had had enough of this. "Whatever! You're all useless!" she headed for the door then and slammed it, but not before hearing her father mention something about asking Shuhei. She nodded and took off. Shuhei was most likely with Yuki at this time of day, so all she had to do was search out the other sand. It didn't take long for her to zero in on the youngest Sabaku. She landed in front of the pair, who happened to be going on a walk through the streets.

"Shuhei!" Natsumi yelled, grabbing the young Hokage by the collar and pulling him down. It was a bit irritating when a boy who was nine years younger had at least a couple inches on you. "Where is Akito?!"

He stared at her, wide-eyed for a moment. "He's on a mission. Oh yeah," the blonde said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a scroll. "He told me to give this to you, but I forgot. Yuki-chan is just so distracting sometimes." He said with a grin.

Yuki, who was latched onto Shuhei's arm, laughed and nodded. Her beautiful emerald eyes focused on her sister, "Sorry Natsumi. I didn't know Akito had left."

Natsumi snatched the scroll from the Hokage and ripped it open, scanning over the words.

_Natsumi,_

_I will be gone on a mission for a while, so don't worry. I should only be gone for three days. If you miss me too badly, feel free to sleep in my bed, I won't mind. And yes, I'm making fun of you._

_-Uchiha Akito_

Her eye twitched and she angrily shut the scroll. "I'm going to sleep in his bed just in spite of that big fat jerk!" She yelled at no one and then disappeared in an instant.

Yuki blinked and looked up at Shuhei. "Um…what?"

He shrugged. "Who cares? Your family's weird anyways." Then he gave her a devious look. "So…you wanna go make out?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

She giggled and smirked, giving him a dark look. "Of course Hokage-sama." She elongated his name and pulled him closer. "Your every wish is my desire." And with that Shuhei grabbed onto her and picked her up, disappearing in a yellow flash.

* * *

Another day had gone by and Akito _still_ was not home. She was turning into a nervous wreck. He had said he would be back today and he wasn't. She had given up staying in her hotel. What if something terrible had happened while he was gone? He could be hurt or dead! She stopped, grabbing the area over her heart and taking a deep breath. She needed some reassurance. Anything that would have his scent or his essence. Her sand surrounded her in a comforting manner and swept her away. When she appeared once more she was in front of Akito's house. She ran to the door and pounded away. It was only just after sunset, so Sasuke should still be awake, if he was even there. She prayed silently that he wasn't. It would make things so much easier.

Sasuke answered the door and glared at whoever dare interrupt his quiet evening. "What." He asked tersely, although it was more like a statement. Then he saw who it was and raised a brow. "Akito is not here. Surely he told you he was going to be gone."

She cursed her luck. "He did…" she said sadly, trying to control her distress. "But he was supposed to be back today, and he isn't, and I'm getting really worried…so," she stopped. Her request seemed impossible now. "I was just wondering if I could stay here and calm myself down, I'm kind of freaking out. I promise I won't get in your way or anything, I can clean or something…I can cook too." She offered, wondering if any of this even appealed to the Uchiha. "I just can't be around my family anymore, they are getting on my last nerves and I need something close to Akito."

Sasuke just stared at her silently, considering her request. He didn't really want a woman staying in his house. They touched things they weren't supposed to and got into your business. But his house did need cleaning…not that it wasn't already clean, just that the shine of cleanliness had begun to fade. And she could cook. Since Akito wasn't home to do it for him, he might as well use her for her services. And since she was Sakura's daughter, he knew she could cook really well. It was then his decision was made. He would use her for her culinary talents.

"Hn. You may stay in Akito's room. I assume you already know where it is. Clean whatever you like, the supplies are in the hall closet across from the first bathroom. Just don't break anything. And if you can't cook well, then just leave, for I will have no other use for you." The elder Uchiha eventually said.

Natsumi blinked in surprise. That was the most she had ever heard him say in all the years she'd known him. She bowed gratefully and smiled at him, showing just how truly happy she was. "Thank you Sasuke-sama."

When he left the doorway, she walked in and shut the door behind her. She looked around the house and noted Sasuke was already gone. Making her way to Akito's room, she took off her shoes, and fell onto his bed. She grabbed his pillow and curled against it, taking in his scent. She couldn't believe how worried she was about him. He never did anything without telling her, so that must have been what made her so uneasy. Not wanting to let Sasuke down on his generous acceptance, she got up. She pulled off her gloves and set them on his dresser, and grabbed the bag she had left in here from the time she went on the Anbu mission. She needed to be more comfortable if she was going to cook and clean. She changed quickly, wearing short black shorts and a black tank top, much similar to what she had been wearing with the Anbu vest.

She left his room and headed towards the kitchen, rummaging around so she would know where everything was. Once she had the place mapped out, she looked in the refrigerator and examined the supplies she had to work with. With a decisive nod, she pulled out some salmon, onions, green chili peppers, and some other ingredients. She was glad her mother was a culinary genius, because nothing but perfection would be accepted in the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke. She brought out the cutting board and a pot, preparing all the ingredients and then mixing them together. She was going to make a delicious bowl of salmon curry.

As the curry cooked on the stove, she set the table expertly and made sure everything looked nice. She assumed the Uchiha didn't drink much but water, so she filled two glasses and put some ice in to keep them cold. Once everything was set she went back to the curry and stirred it, seeing it was simmering perfectly. She pulled out two bowls and poured in the proper amount. With precise skills she decorated the meal with some herbs and vegetables.

When it looked perfect she set the two bowls on the table and made her way down the hall, finding Sasuke's room. Just as she was about to knock on his door it opened, making her jump a bit. "Oh Sasuke-sama. I was just coming to tell you dinner was ready."

"I can smell it." Was all he said before walking by her and towards the kitchen. This would be the ultimate test. Whether or not her cooking was good. It _smelled_ good, but Sasuke knew from past experience that smells can be deceiving.

He sat down in his regular spot and looked at what she had made. It _looked_ good, but just as with smells, looks could also be deceiving. She sat down in the spot she had set for herself and took her spoon, watching him as he assessed her work. She had thought that everything was perfect, but maybe Sasuke was freakish like her brother. She decided not to inhibit herself and started to eat. _S__he_ thought it was good. She grabbed her water and took a small sip, not really taking her eyes off the brooding man.

He cautiously took a bite, and was surprised at how great it tasted. He silently congratulated himself on his decision to let her stay until his son got back. Her cooking was amazing. But he didn't say anything, and he didn't let his approval show on his face. Instead he continued to eat silently, not bothering to look across the table.

She let out a deep sigh, maybe it wasn't up to his tastes. Well at least he hadn't said it was bad…yet. They ate in complete silence, and as dinner went on it really started to bother her. She wasn't used to this kind of silence. Even though her dad wasn't one for talking, he at least attempted to make conversation every once in a while. Once she was done she stared the wall, trying not to think about Akito. If he never came home, she didn't know what she would do.

She looked over and noticed he was finished with his as well and decided now was the best time to begin to clean. She got up and took her bowl, taking his along the way and then began the dishes. He was gone without a word, so she cleaned the dishes and the counters. Getting carried away, she did the whole kitchen, scrubbing the floor and everything. She sat up from her tedious work and leaned against the wall. She didn't want to cry again, but she felt the tears forming in her eyes. If she never saw him again…she had a sinking feeling in her stomach. What _would_ she do? She didn't know how to function without him.

Another deep sigh escaped her lips. She tossed the rag in the bucket and carried it outside to dump the water. She looked around the yard and let the fresh air fill her lungs. She needed to distract herself from her terrible thoughts, so without a moment of hesitation, she began to clean the house from top to bottom. Having already done the kitchen, she moved to the living room and then the hallways. She polished the heirlooms carefully, being sure not to be too rough with the delicates. Finally she came upon the training room, which looked like it needed the most work. It was obviously the most used room in the house. She got to work, getting the scorch marks up from the floor and the walls. As she finished up with the room, she noticed a schedule posted on the wall. Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she got up from her spot and walked over to it. As she skimmed through it her eyes only grew wider. No wonder Akito was so messed up, this was ridiculous. The training courses that were filling each square were unrealistic, and alongside the routines were punishment exercises had he not mastered the training of the day before. There were red scribbles everywhere, saying all the things that needed to be worked on and what had been done wrong. She touched the paper and felt an urge to rip it down. That was just sick, she couldn't help but feel a growing disdain for the elder Uchiha. How dare he treat Akito this way.

She stopped her thoughts immediately, before his name could bring back her forgotten worry. Leaving the matter alone for now, she finished cleaning and picked up all the supplies. When they were all back in the closet she went back to Akito's room. She knew she wouldn't sleep, her mind was already running with all the things that Akito could be doing right now, despite her efforts to repress them. Absentmindedly she began grabbing his clothes, and before she knew it she was doing all his laundry. She looked down and sighed deeply. This annoying habit of cooking and cleaning when she was nervous was all thanks to her mother.

After she had finished all Akito's laundry, it was well past the early morning hours. She would have to try and get some sleep so she could wake up early enough to make Sasuke breakfast. From what she knew about Akito, his father would probably be an early bird as well. She came back to his room and filed his clothes away and then collapsed on his bed. "Stupid Akito…" she mumbled, getting under his soft sheets and gripping onto his pillow once again. "You said you'd never leave me you stupid jerk." She whispered sadly. Surprisingly, she fell asleep not to long after that.

* * *

Natsumi sat bolt up in bed and looked around, alarmed. She blinked and brushed her bangs from her face. What a weird dream. She glanced over to the clock and gasped, "Oh my God!" she yelped and struggled from the sheets' tight grip on her. She grabbed an old black shirt she had found the night before and cut it and sewed it into one for herself. She didn't bring all her clothes, and didn't have time right now to go back and get them. She slid it on and pulled it down. It had been a pretty old shirt, because it hugged very tightly, revealing her midriff and her scar. She dug through her bag and found some black capris and quickly changed. The shirt she had altered had been a t-shirt, but now was cut into a V neck and sewn so it wouldn't fray. The Uchiha Crest was on the back, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

Natsumi ran out of the room and headed for Sasuke's. She pressed her ear to his door and a wave of relief washed over her. He was still asleep. She crept back down the hall and into the kitchen, pulling out some eggs and other ingredients. She would make Sasuke an omelet, the most delicious one she had ever made. She took out a frying pan and turned on the stove, cracking a few eggs in the process and dumping them in.

She chopped up some vegetables, and threw some sausage in another frying pan. It didn't take long to cook their breakfast, and when she finished the omelets she placed them both on separate plates, a decorative piece of barley next to them. She hurried to set the plates down on the made table and got out two glasses, pouring orange juice into both. She really hoped she wasn't going out on a limb with the orange juice. Just as she sat the glasses down, she looked up and saw Sasuke, standing in the doorway with a bored expression.

Sasuke entered the kitchen wordlessly and sat down, waiting for her to serve him. Once that was done he waited for her to sit before he began eating. After taking a few bites he sighed almost inaudibly, and set down his fork.

Natsumi's eyes immediately focused on the Uchiha. That was the first sound he had ever made when he ate. She blinked, was it bad? She noticed he had stopped eating, but before she could ask what was wrong he spoke.

"What exactly does my son mean to you?" he asked, locking gazes with her.

She didn't answer. She just stared at him, because the question had caught her off guard. "What?"

He almost sighed once more. He hated repeating himself. "What does Akito mean to you?" he said, speaking a bit slower in case she was stupid.

"Why?" she asked, watching him closely. What _did_ Akito mean to her now? She couldn't say there was nothing, because that wasn't true. She looked down, staring at her food and taking a deep breath. She didn't know how to answer that right now.

"Because you aren't good for him. You distract him from what is important, and you toy with his feelings. I don't want him to waste so much time on some girl who is just using him." Sasuke said. If there was one thing he cared about, it was his son. Though he would never admit it aloud.

Oh he had to be joking. Natsumi just stared at him in utter shock. There must be something wrong with his head, because she was good for everybody. She was perfect, flawless, anyone would be lucky to have the attention she gave Akito. Her confused stare slanted down into an icy glare, more threatening than the one he was giving her. "Excuse me?" she hissed, standing up then and gripping the table. "If anyone is bad for Akito it's you, you slave driver! I saw that list! What kind of father does that to his son?! No wonder Akito is so messed up! You should consider yourself lucky that he is your son, he is amazing and I don't know how, because you are a vindictive, insane, malicious dictator. How you got such a wonderful son, I don't know. If you were my dad I would have probably killed you by now, you oppressive tyrant!" she screamed, taking her plate and setting it in the sink, storming out shortly after.

He watched her leave, shocked silent. Nobody had ever dared speak to him that way about his parenting skills. Well, nobody but Gaara that is. So he guessed it made sense. Then he smirked to himself. She might not be that bad for his son after all.

* * *

Natsumi screamed, walking into the backyard and slamming her fist into a nearby tree. She was so angry! How dare he tell her she wasn't good enough for his son. He was a psycho! She growled and punched the tree again, harder and harder until she could no longer feel her knuckles. Why had she gotten so upset though? She shut her eyes and pulled her fist back and hit the tree with all the force she could muster. She winced when she felt her knuckles shatter. What she would give to have her brother's strength. She let out a deep breath and finally opened her eyes, placing her other hand over her shattered one. She started healing it immediately, and then noted all the damage she had done to the area. Just as her emotions had gone crazy, so had her sand. She grimaced. Sometimes she really hated her gift. She was too emotional to control it all the time.

She moved away from the tree and saw her blood splattered over the area where she had gone crazy. She lifted her newly healed hand, once again appearing flawless. Did the question Sasuke ask her really make her that angry? She pressed her lips together and a frown formed on her face. She had said some pretty terrible things in there. It was already dark out now, and the moon was rising above the trees.

She glanced up and sighed, she knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to be confronted about Akito again. She didn't know what she would do. She didn't know how she felt about him anymore. But it was pointless to deny that there was nothing there, because there was and there always would be.

Determined to make things right, she headed into the house and to Sasuke's room. She lifted her hand and knocked on the door hesitantly. She really hoped he didn't answer. He opened the door and just stared at her silently, waiting for her to tell him why she was there.

She repressed a groan that threatened to be heard. "Um…Sasuke-sama…" she bowed her head in respect. "I'm sorry…for what I said. It was not my place." She stood straight then, her face very serious. She wanted him to know she still meant what she said and she was not backing down, but it really wasn't her place to correct him.

"Hn. I only push him so hard because it disciplines him. Such discipline will help him in every aspect of life, and keep him alive when he goes out on missions. But you are not a parent, so I don't expect you to understand." He answered. He didn't know why he was trying to explain himself to this girl. He really didn't care. But as long as Akito was the best at everything he did, then he would stay alive longer, and Sasuke wouldn't have to worry about him when he went off on missions, which he did more frequently now.

"I know. I'm sorry." She bowed her head once more. But she couldn't fight the small smile that was playing on her face. When he actually talked a lot, it was kind of funny, since she was so used to his silence.

"By the way…thank you for doing my laundry. Goodnight." He said a little awkwardly. Then he shut his bedroom door before she could say anything more, since he didn't want her to see how uncomfortable that had made him.

She stared at his door, wide eyed. Did Uchiha Sasuke just thank her? She smiled and walked back down the hall to Akito's room and snuggled into his sheets. With a deep sigh she got up and forced herself to the bathroom. Yet another day had gone by and he wasn't home. The worries she had pushed away for the day were creeping back. She stripped down and got into the shower, the hot water a nice relief from this cool environment. She felt her tears mixing with the falling water. Why did he leave without a proper goodbye? She pressed her head against the cool tile and let out a sob she was holding in. Something had happened to him. She just knew it, even though she hadn't gotten a premonition, she knew something bad had befallen her precious Akito.

She stepped out of the shower and dried her face and body. It was pretty chilly, so she went to Akito's closet and pulled out one of his long sleeved black shirts. She slipped it on and felt better instantly. The sleeves were too long for her and stopped just at her fingertips. She pulled on her short black shorts and climbed into bed, thinking nothing except her wish for him to come home to her.

* * *

Natsumi groaned as the sound of the alarm went off. She reached up and rubbed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the sleepiness that had taken over. With great effort she got out of Akito's warm bed and headed for the kitchen. She hated how early she had to get up to cook for Sasuke. It was really, really irritating. She opened the fridge and saw that they were running low on vegetables and didn't have many fruits. Well that would change by this afternoon. She pulled out some eggs and bacon, got out two frying pans and started them each on a different burner.

She took out the bread and buttered it perfectly before putting it in the oven to toast it. She loved how easy and fast breakfast was to make. When everything was ready she made up two plates and set the table. Seeing he had liked the orange juice yesterday she poured him another glass.

As always he came in the moment she was finished setting everything down. He sat and she did as well, beginning to eat their silent breakfast. She looked over at him after a while and smiled, "I noticed you only have a few vegetables left. So after I clean today I'm going to go to the market and get some things. Is there anything in particular that you want?"

"What else have you not cleaned?" the elder Uchiha asked, his brow slightly scrunched in confusion. He wasn't blind. He could tell how hard she had worked the past two days on the house. And he wasn't cruel and uncaring the way everyone thought he was either. Besides, if Sakura found out that her daughter had cleaned his entire house she would be furious.

Then he realized that he had actually shown an emotion around her and cleared his throat. Did this girl have some natural ability to cause people to be like that? "Tomatoes." He said in answer of her earlier question. Then he began to eat, hoping that she wouldn't mention his sudden outburst.

She blinked. There was always something that could be cleaned. Had she just made Akito's big bad daddy confused? She felt her smile grow. "Alright. I'll make sure to get lots of those. In fact, I know a really healthy treat you can make with tomatoes. I'll make you some later around lunchtime." she told him, finishing up her breakfast quickly. She needed to get to the market before all the good produce was gone. She cleaned her plate and left the room, returning with her knee high ninja shoes on. She didn't feel like changing, so she stayed in Akito's shirt and her shorts. It was tight on her only because she had breasts to fill his broad chest. "I'll be back soon!" she waved at the still eating Uchiha. She popped back in the doorway and gave him another bright smile. She seemed to be doing that a lot more now. "By the way Sasuke-sama, you look very kind when you show some emotion. It makes me happy that I could see such a rare reaction." and with that she was gone and out the door.

He stared at the empty doorway for a while, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. It seemed this girl wasn't as bad as he had originally thought.

* * *

Natsumi walked down the streets of Konoha, finally locating the market. She bought a basket and then started her search for the most vibrant looking produce. It didn't take her long, since she was Sakura's daughter. But as her shopping went on she felt a sinister presence behind her. She turned around and blinked, "Taka?"

Taka sneered at her, crossing her arms. "What are you doing here?" the brunette asked.

The pink haired woman gave her an annoyed stare. "What does it look like stupid? I'm shopping. I have to make dinner for Sasuke-sama, and he was running out of produce." She explained with a roll of her eyes. She turned back to her task, showing Taka the Uchiha crest that was on her back. It didn't take a genius to realize it was Akito's shirt.

Taka instantly grew jealous. "Wow. You're more desperate than I thought you were. Taking Akito-sama's clothes while he's gone and wearing them? And you're even trying to get Sasuke-sama to warm up to you. You really are pathetic. Don't you think Akito-sama would rather have a woman that lives in the same village? So you might as well give up, because I'm the better option." she said with a self-satisfied smirk.

Natsumi let out a deep breath, cracked her neck, and then turned to face her opponent. Her beautiful jade eyes clashed with crystal blue. "Alright. You listen and you listen well." She poked Taka harshly in the chest. "I didn't take them. I have nothing else to wear while I'm staying there. I don't have time to go get my clothes because I'm helping out Sasuke-sama. He's pretty hopeless when it comes to cooking. And I get cold at night, so while I'm sleeping in Akito's bed, with Sasuke-sama's consent by the way, awaiting him to come back to me, I took one of his shirts since they're long sleeved." She stuck her hip out and placed her hands gracefully on her curves. She gave Taka a once over and smirked. "Besides, to go with that dreadful personality of yours, your figure is so straight. And…Akito likes nice legs." She smirked, turning her back to her once more. She smiled at the vendor and paid for the fruits she had just purchased.

Taka just stared at her in shock. Nobody dared speak to her that way. She was one of the most beautiful girls in Konoha, especially since Minako had left five years ago. She placed her hands on her hips. "He may like nice legs, but he also likes women with a bit less fat on their thighs and hips. I mean, yeah it's nice to have something to grab onto, but he doesn't need a whole bakery of rolls." She said with a smirk of her own.

"Taka!" Natsumi swirled around, looking angry. She placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and gave her a loving look. "You shouldn't speak so badly of yourself. It doesn't help your poor self-esteem." She was really trying not to grin evilly, but her father was beginning to show.

A vein began to pop out in the brunette's forehead. This girl was so annoying! "I was talking about you, you self-centered little princess wannabe!" she yelled, smacking Natsumi's hands off her shoulders.

That was when the death glare appeared. Natsumi set her basket down, shoving Taka back with brute force. "You little…UGH! How _dare_ you! I AM a princess!" she yelled, now causing a scene. "You're going to pay for that." She hissed, disappearing in an instant. Before Taka could even prepare herself, Natsumi was behind her, swinging her leg around in a roundhouse kick and taking the girl to the ground. She slammed her foot onto Taka's throat and held her down. She leaned forward, smirking viciously. "Having a little trouble breathing Taka?" she laughed darkly, seeing the woman struggle to get in some air.

"Natsumi." Sasuke's stern voice said from behind her. The sand princess immediately snapped out of her trance and looked over at the older Uchiha.

He walked over to the girls and glanced down at Taka. "Do not waste your energy on such a pathetic excuse for a human being. Uchihas don't go for peasants anyways, especially not whores. Let's go." He said, picking up the basket and beginning to walk away.

A victorious smirk came across her face as she looked back down at Taka as well. "Later, peasant." She waved, stepping off and following after Sasuke. She smiled up at him and held her hands out for the basket just in case he didn't want to carry it. "Sasuke-sama why are you out? I didn't think you had anything planned for today."

Being a gentleman, Sasuke continued to carry the groceries. "I was taking Akito's kunai and spare katana to the shop to get sharpened and polished. He also needed some new Anbu uniforms, so I went and placed an order." He said. He may not do much for his son, but he would be sure that Akito had the best equipment.

"Oh." She laughed and grabbed his arm, leading him over to the vegetables since she had already gotten enough fruit. She fingered through the produce and bought what she needed, taking more care when she picked out the tomatoes. Since Sasuke had said he wanted them, she assumed they were his favorite. After all that was done, she placed all the food in the basket and waved goodbye to the vender. "Alright." She clapped her hands together and started walking back to the Uchiha District. "Now we can have a delicious snack when we get home."

He gave her an odd look. She was so much like Sakura it was scary, and yet she was different. He walked with her back to his house in silence. Once they arrived, he went into the kitchen and began putting the groceries away. There was a knock on the door then, but before he could go answer it Natsumi headed out the door. "I'll get it." She said hurrying towards the door. She pulled it open and smiled. "Hello." Her face fell instantly when she saw the bright yellow hair and Naruto's annoying face. "Oh…hi Uncle Naruto. What do you want?"

Naruto took in her appearance and went wide eyed. He walked past her and into the house, looking around. "Where is the bastard?!" he asked. When Sasuke entered the room at hearing who was at the door, Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him. "You pedophile! How could you tarnish such an innocent girl?! Just because you couldn't have Sakura-chan doesn't mean you can go after her daughter! She's in love with your son anyways! You sick bastard!" he yelled angrily.

Natsumi went wide eyed at the moron's accusation. "You idiot!" she screamed, taking the blonde down to the ground before he could do anything. She kept him pinned to the floor with her legs and wrapped her delicate hands tightly around his throat, banging his head onto the wood over and over again. "That's gross! No offense to Sasuke-sama or anything but as I have said before! My body belongs to Akito! You sick freak! I sleep in Akito's bed! How stupid could you be?!"

The sound of her abuse was interrupted by a deep, throaty laugh. Sasuke had his arms wrapped around his midsection and was laughing. Actually, truly laughing. "Hahaha! You dobe! You're being beaten to the ground by a slip of a girl who doesn't even possess Sakura's immense strength! And they made you Hokage!" he laughed, smiling widely at the whole situation.

"Shut up you bastard!" Naruto screamed angrily from the ground. This was probably one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to the blonde. And the fact that Sasuke was taking so much amusement from this was only making it worse. He hadn't seen his friend that happy in a long time.

Natsumi stared up, still keeping her hands tightly around Naruto's neck. Her eyes were wide, she had only seen Sasuke laugh like that once before, and it was when her father had pushed Naruto off the balcony at his own inauguration. She smiled. She had pleased Sasuke again and made him show his deep emotions. She was so proud of herself. She stopped her thought process. Why did impressing Sasuke even matter? She stopped herself before furthering her thoughts, already knowing they were tied to Akito. A wave of grief washed over her. He still had not returned and it had been five days since he left. Where was he? She got up from Naruto and glared down at him, sending a powerful kick right between the ex-Hokage's legs. "_That's_ for calling Sasuke-sama a pedophile and for even thinking I would allow any man but Akito to touch my body in that way."

Sasuke's laughter increased at his friend's scream of pain. As it died down he gave Natsumi a considering look. So she did love his son. She was just too prideful to admit it. Damn Gaara and his stubbornness. He knew that was where it was stemming from. But he wouldn't involve himself in his son's affairs…this time. Love was something he avoided like the plague.

When Naruto finally got his breath back he got up slowly. "What is it with you people and hurting me?!" he asked, placing a hand on a nearby chair for support.

"You shouldn't say stupid things dobe. Simple as that. Now what do you want?" Sasuke asked, all previous joy now gone.

Naruto stood up straight despite the lingering pain. His pride would not allow him to appear weak any longer. "I just came to ask if you wanted to spar. But now that I'm at a disadvantage, I guess we'll have to wait."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You were at a disadvantage the moment the idea popped into your miniscule brain. Let's go." The elder Uchiha said, grabbing his friend's arm and dragging him out of the house.

The two left then and Natsumi sighed. Now she was all by herself. She finished putting all the food away and made a round on the house, seeing if anything needed to be cleaned. She _needed_ to clean something, because her thoughts were beginning to break through her wall. She made a full circle around the house and stopped in front of Akito's room. Everything was spotless. She went in and tried to suppress her thoughts. She looked around, doing her best to preoccupy herself.

She froze then, noticing a picture on Akito's shelf she had never seen before, sitting next to a picture of him and Toshiro. She walked over and picked it up, examining it. She held it in both of her hands, running her thumbs over it lightly. How had he gotten this? It was a picture from five years ago, when Minako came to Suna to marry Toshiro. The picture was of herself and Akito...and she looked so happy. Suddenly a drop of water fell onto the glass, magnifying their closeness. Her mother had taken this. Their cheeks were pressed together, and he was smiling that beautiful smile of his as she mimicked the action beside him. She had loved him so much, she could even see it in the picture. Another tear hit the glass and then her sobbing began. She sank to her knees and cried, thinking about all the feelings he had made her feel. Everything he meant to her…everything he _still _meant to her.

She let out a loud yell and dropped the picture, slamming her fists on the floor and banging her forehead against the wood repeatedly. She screamed now, hating how weak she felt and realizing just how broken she was. She was filled with hate now when all she had ever been was love. She had forced herself to turn into this ugly thing because she was too afraid of being hurt by him again. She moved her hand and grabbed the edge of the frame. Her fingers slid down the glass and she cried more. Akito had broken her heart into more pieces than she could imagine. But she had stopped him in his attempts of picking them all up and putting it back together, no matter how long it took.

"Akito…please come back." She sobbed out pitifully. "I need you." She whispered, managing to pull herself off the floor and onto her knees. She grabbed onto the comforter and dragged herself onto the bed, picture in hand. Once she was secure beneath the sheets she held the photo closely, drifting off to sleep.

Her nap lasted a few hours, and when she woke up she noticed it was almost time for dinner. She sat up, an empty look on her face and her eyes red from crying in her sleep. She set the picture down on the spare pillow and went into the bathroom. She showered quickly and removed all traces of her sadness. She just put the clothes she had been wearing back on since she would be going right back to bed once she ate. After she dried her hair she headed into the kitchen, noticing that Sasuke still wasn't back from his spar with Naruto.

She pulled out some of her more recent ingredients, intent on making sushi for dinner. It would take a while to get it all together but the end result would be perfect. After about an hour, all the different sushi rolls were done, along with cut fish of different sorts and rice balls. They were all piled, in an organized fashion, on a large decorated square plate. She set it in the center of the table and then placed two smaller matching plates in front of their seats. She got their water and placed it down, grabbing two sets of chop sticks and placing them beside the plates. She sat down in her chair once it was all ready and waited for Sasuke to come home. She leaned forward, propped her elbows on the table and set her chin on her hands, staring vacantly at the wall.

Sasuke walked in then, still sweaty from his beat down of Naruto. He sat down and began to eat after giving Natsumi a questioning glance. She seemed really depressed for some reason, but he didn't see why. He decided not to ask, since he didn't want to hear about her problems. Women always had so many of them anyways.

Seeing that he had started eating, she took her chopsticks and placed some sushi on her plate, along with a rice ball. She ate in silence, keeping her mind blank and her eyes on the wall. She didn't want to think anymore. It only led to bad places. She just hoped Sasuke liked sushi.

Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't really like this silence. Normally he loved it, but he could tell something was bothering her, and he had a feeling just what it was. He picked up another piece of sushi and glanced up at her. "Stop worrying. He's fine." He said as he put the sushi in his mouth. He really liked the way it tasted, it was even better than his son's cooking.

"It's not that." She said solemnly, sticking another piece in her mouth as well.

He sighed. Why did he care? Why? She was just some girl that was obsessed with his son, that's all. But, then again, his son was obsessed with her in return, so maybe that is why he cared. "What is it then? Don't tell me if you don't want to, it's no skin off my back." He told her, taking a sip of his water.

She glanced over at him for the first time, her face devoid of all emotion. Just like her father's and his own. "It's nothing. I don't like being like this is all." She said simply, poking at her sushi and looking down at it. She grabbed it between her chopsticks and tossed it into her mouth.

"Hn. Nobody does." He said simply, taking another bite. Her answer had been unexpected. He had assumed that she would whine to him about her problem, the way most girls did. It was refreshing to know that she wasn't like them. Especially since he didn't want to have to sit through her whines and pretend to listen to her. He finished eating then and stood up. Then he took his plate over to the sink and began to wash it.

She did the same, having lost her appetite. She placed her plate on the counter and grabbed the leftovers. She opened the fridge and set the plate inside to keep it all cool. When Sasuke had finished she washed her own dish and dried both, placing them back in the cupboard. His words had hurt her feelings a bit, but it was something she already knew. She was mean and coarse now. She sighed and told him goodnight before leaving the kitchen and heading for Akito's room. When she came in, she shut the door behind her and pulled off her shorts, now only in his shirt and her lacy underwear. She reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, expertly removing it and shoving it in her bag.

She turned off the light and crawled into Akito's bed, snuggling into his covers. She fell asleep faster than she thought she would, lying sprawled out with her fingertips just touching the picture of them that was on the extra pillow.

* * *

Akito sighed as he entered his house late that night. His mission had been hell, and he was exhausted. And on top of that he had been forced to stay in Suna for two days, taking up his traveling time to come home. Needed to recuperate his ass. Toshiro just wanted to spar with him. Not that he minded, since it was nice to see his friend after so long. And even if he could have left he wouldn't, since Ami had looked at him with her big eyes and begged him to stay. What could he say? He was a sucker when it came to his niece.

He stripped all his weapons near the front door, since they would need to be washed and polished and sharpened later. Then he made his way to his room, intent on passing out. On his way he noticed how clean the house was. It was always clean, but it seemed as if extra effort had been put forth to make it shine. He wondered who had done it, since his father, however meticulous he was, wasn't _that_ much of a neat freak.

When he entered his room he saw the answer to his question sprawled in his bed. He smiled, noticing that she was wearing one of his shirts to sleep in. He liked seeing her in his clothes, wearing his clan's symbol. He pulled off his Anbu gear, all the way down to his boxers. Then he went to the other side of the bed and crawled in, after moving the picture that was on his pillow to the nightstand.

He lay down carefully, not wanting to disturb Natsumi. Then he pulled her to him, inhaling her scent. He had missed her over that past few days, and was extremely happy to be home. With those thoughts, he fell into a deep slumber.


	9. Breakthrough

**Tempest**

_Chapter Nine_

-Breakthrough-

Natsumi awoke slowly, feeling a bit better than she had yesterday. She moved slightly, finding some difficulty with the action. Finally, she realized why she was so warm. It was because there was something on her. She glanced down, seeing a mass of black hair resting on her chest. The face burrowed between her breasts, nuzzling her tenderly. Her hand was resting comfortably on the person's head. She went wide eyed and screamed. Only one person came to mind right now, and it was the man she'd been living with for the past few days. With all her might she threw the body off hers and onto the floor. Her sand was already wrapping around him tightly, holding him in the air. "YOU SICK BASTARD!" she yelled, lowering into a familiar taijutsu pose, keeping her position on the bed, not really caring that she was only in a long sleeved shirt and her underwear. "YOU _ARE_ A PEDOPHILE!"

Startled awake, Akito just stared at her, wide-eyed. Then it turned into a glare. This was definitely not how he had wanted to be greeted by her. "What the hell are you talking about?! I'm only one year older than you!" he yelled back, upset at having been woken up so rudely. He was having a great dream, and for some reason the pillow he had been using was extra soft and really warm.

Finally, the sand princess took in his appearance and her sand dropped him abruptly. He landed on his feet, still seeming angry. She didn't care though, because her heart felt like it was soaring. "AKITO!" she gasped, running towards him and jumping off the bed and straight into his arms. "You're back!" She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as his hands instantly went to support her.

He was slightly shocked at her sudden change in demeanor, but thought nothing of it as he brought her closer to him. "Of course I am. I told you I'd be back didn't I?" he asked, nuzzling her neck affectionately. He had missed her so much.

She closed her eyes, loving his touch and his presence. The peace it brought her was everything she wanted. She held herself closer to him. "Stupid Shuhei didn't give me your letter until two days after you were gone. And then you weren't back when you said you would be…" she pulled her head a bit back so she could look at him. She met his beautiful green eyes and couldn't help but smile. "I missed you."

He smiled slightly in return. "I missed you too. It was weird being in Suna without you there." He told her.

Slowly her face fell as his words sunk in. "What?" she glared. "You were in Suna?! That's what took so long?!"

He stared at her blankly, slightly confused as to why she was so upset. "Well yeah. The mission I was sent on was near there, and I got critically injured. So I stopped by to be treated at the hospital. Then Toshiro and Minako made me stay an extra day, saying something like 'You need to heal properly'. But it was a lie, because Toshiro wound up asking me to spar, and then I had to go pick flowers with Ami, and Minako wanted me to stay for dinner. I was already late getting back so I decided to stay, since I didn't want to listen to their nagging. I came back as fast as I could though." He explained, hoping that she wouldn't be mad at him anymore. He didn't want to argue this early in the morning and so soon after getting back.

Her glare only grew icier. "So…you decided to spend time with them, instead of coming back to me?" she asked. Her grip on him tightened, somewhat painfully. "It's because I'm so depressing now isn't it!" she yelled, trying not to get over emotional about it, but she could already feel the tears filling her eyes. "Look I'm trying okay! But I can't just flip back! It takes some time. If you didn't want to spend time with me you should have just stayed in Suna until I got back and then you could be on your merry way!"

He glared back at her, his grip on her thighs tightening slightly. "I came back to you as soon as I could! Do you know how fast I had to travel to get back last night instead of in two more days? I even risked re-opening my wound to come see you. All I wanted to do when I came back was spend time with you and hold you. Would I have said that I missed you if I didn't mean it?!" he asked, hoping that she would see reason. She had utterly destroyed his good mood.

Her harsh glare vanished and she stared at him sadly, searching his eyes and seeing it was the truth. But now he was angry. She frowned and slowly worked her way out of his grip and to her feet. She took his hand and pulled him with her as she stepped backwards. She didn't let her eyes leave his, and when she got to the bed she got on, giving him a sharp tug and making him join her. "I'm sorry," She said softly, forcing him down onto his back, making sure he was comfortable. She examined his body, trailing her fingers along his exposed muscles and letting a bit of chakra flow into them, relieving their sore feel and strain.

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, completely relaxed by her touch. He could understand part of why she was upset, but he didn't understand why she always had to make such a big deal out of every little thing. It drove him crazy sometimes. He reached his hand out and began to rub her knee, showing that he wasn't upset anymore. "Me too." He murmured, his mind already trying to drift off to sleep.

Vaguely he wondered why his pillow felt different from what he had been using before. He thought back on when he had been woken up, and remembered feeling warmth, and softness. That's when he realized what he had been sleeping on, and suddenly he grew embarrassed and annoyed. How could he have gotten so close to her chest and not done anything about it?! Stupid Toshiro for making him so exhausted that he was unaware of his surroundings.

He opened his eyes then and looked at her. She was so beautiful, especially when in his clothes. His gaze wandered down her body, and he noticed that she wasn't wearing shorts the way she usually did. That was when he noticed a hint of black lace at the edge of his shirt. "What are you wearing?" he asked, beginning to move the fabric so that he could get a better look.

She blinked and looked down, turning a dark red. She moved her hand from his chest and snatched the shirt from him, tugging it down. But the result backfired. In her attempt to hide her panties the sides of the shirt slid up as the rest went down and revealed the sides and her butt. "Don't look you pervert!" she huffed, trying to give him a glare, but it was weak and ineffective.

Too late, his eyes had shot towards the skin exposed before he could help it. He smiled and looked back up at her. Then he brought his hands forwards and traced the newly exposed areas. "Have I ever told you how amazing your rear is?" he asked, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a devilish way.

She went wide eyed and released the front of the shirt, tugging at the back to cover her behind, only resulting in the same thing in reverse. The shirt moved up in the back and she successfully held a glare. "No, but I'm sure you've thought it. I've seen you ogling my body up and down." She huffed, as if the action was vulgar, despite the fact that her gaze tended to linger on parts of his body that they shouldn't.

"Well it's great. Nice and soft and firm…" he trailed off, moving his hands to cup her bottom. He knew he shouldn't, but he was having too much fun to stop now.

She was on top of him in an instant, straddling his waist and pinning his arms by his head. She leaned down, her lips brushing against the shell of his ear, "Don't make me hurt you, Akito-_sama_." She whispered sensually, daringly pressing her lower half against his.

His breath hitched and his entire body stiffened at what she had done. It was like one of his fantasies was finally coming to life. He swallowed, finding his voice. "Do it. I dare you." He whispered huskily into her ear.

She smirked, releasing one of his hands and reaching over to the bedside table. There was a spare kunai sitting on top. She grabbed it and brought the sharp tip to his throat. Her heart was pounding. She couldn't believe what she was doing. "You know I love dares." She said darkly, rubbing her hips on his and trying to hold in the moan. She bit down on her lip and pressed the kunai right on his jaw line. She sliced a small shallow cut, only about an inch long. The blood began to clot, and before any could spill she pressed her tongue against his skin and licked it up.

He exhaled sharply, trying unsuccessfully to control the reaction his body was having to her actions. He brought his free hand down and grabbed her butt, pressing her hips down into his own. This felt better than he had ever thought it would.

She let out a gasp, feeling her most private part press against his own. If she hadn't been so embarrassed, she would have teased him about how turned on he was by her body. But the rock between her legs was making her speechless and light headed. "Oh Akito," she moaned softly, her eyes dropping down to his.

He gazed at her with half-lidded eyes that were clouded with lust. He brought his hand forward underneath her shirt, tracing where her panties met her skin. When he got to the center of her underwear, he began to bring his hand slowly up her stomach. "Tell me what you want Natsumi." He whispered, desperately trying to control himself.

"I want you, Akito," she begged in a whisper. His touch was more than she could bear, and for the first time she truly felt like she was being teased. She released his other hand and ran her fingers into his hair, massaging his scalp, pleading for him to continue and stop this horrible wait.

He sat up and placed his hands on her hips. Then he brought her even closer to his body. Slowly, both of his hands began to travel up her sides. "You have me." He said with a smirk. "So what are you going to do with me?"

She laughed and grabbed his hair, giving it a small tug. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She purred, smiling down at him. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and kissed his soft skin. She trailed up slowly, biting roughly every now and then. Finally she reached his face and began kissing along his jaw.

His hands ran over the front of her ribs and continued their journey upwards. This was it. He was finally going to touch one of her most personal areas. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and the couple froze, both of their heads whipping in that direction. "The Hokage wants to see you two. Get dressed." Sasuke's voice said through the door.

Akito let out a frustrated groan as he brought his hands to her hips and placed his head on her shoulder. "I really hate him sometimes." He mumbled into the side of her neck.

She slowly released him from her grasp and sat up. What she had almost done began to sink in, and her face turned a dark red. She got off him and looked down at his body, and then much lower. She fell back onto his bed and yelled, "You've _got_ to be kidding me! So close!" she groaned and ran her hands down her face. This was so unfair, she almost had him! She would have been Uchiha Akito's first!

He too fell backwards and began a breathing exercise in order to calm his body down. It just wasn't fair. He hadn't even gotten to really touch her, and he knew an opportunity like this wasn't going to happen again for a long time.

Once he had his hormones under control he got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to get a shower." He told her.

She just looked over at him, want all over her face. When he closed the door to the bathroom she let out a sigh. Eventually she pulled herself from bed and stripped down, getting dressed in her normal ninja attire. She pulled on her gloves and then her shoes just as Akito came out in nothing but a towel. She didn't even bother to hide her stare this time, she was just glad she was dressed because she might go in for a second attempt.

He walked over to his closet and pulled out a set of ninja clothes. He shouldn't be sent on a mission so soon after getting back, but even if he was he didn't feel like putting his Anbu uniform back on. He turned to her and smirked. "No peeking." Was her only warning before he dropped his towel and began to get dressed. It was his room after all, and he wasn't shy about his body, especially in front of her.

She didn't turn away of course, and got a nice view of his perfect butt. She smirked and finally looked off, strapping her kunai holder on her leg. When she was finished with her weapons she turned to face him, seeing he was done and pulling his own gloves on. "Ready?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah." He said, grabbing his kunai pouch and buckling it around his waist. They left his house then and walked to the Hokage Tower. When they arrived they were immediately let into the office. Seeing that Satomi was there, Akito felt his mood plummet even more.

Angry jade met annoyed green as the two glared off at one another. "Why am I not surprised to find that it's you who's behind my sister's disappearing act." Satomi sighed, looking away from the two, but it was obvious that she was pissed.

Akito smirked and traced his fingers underneath Natsumi's chin, then ran his hand slowly through her hair. His actions had Satomi's glare focused on him once more. "Maybe because you've finally accepted the fact that she belongs in my bed." He said coolly, making Natsumi turn a dark red.

Satomi went wide eyed and stepped towards him, but Shuhei quickly called off the battle that was about to start. "Alright! Alright. Calm down everyone." The Hokage huffed, giving them all a serious look. "I called you here for a reason. Akito, you have a mission and I need you to leave today. It's in the Village Hidden in the Mist. They've been acting up again and I need you to go see what is going on." He informed him, starting to write something down in the scroll on his desk.

"So…" Natsumi blinked. "Why are we here?"

"Because you freaked out and had a panic attack in the middle of the street, lived with Sasuke for a couple days, and beat up one of my Anbu, again in the middle of the street. So I'm sending you with him since he's the only one who can remotely control you and your spastic outbreaks." Shuhei said without even looking up from his work.

Natsumi gave a small shrug, "True." Though she was a bit embarrassed that Akito was now finding out how frantic she had been when he was away.

Satomi let out another sigh. "Okay well why do I have to go?"

Shuhei looked up, not really hiding his dislike for the Sabaku's oldest daughter. "Well for many reasons, I actually want this mission done and I don't want Akito and Natsumi distracting each other and taking their sweet time in the forest, alone, making sweet, sweet love where no one can hear the sand princess' screams." He stated. Natsumi was wide eyed and blood red. Satomi just stared at the two in disgust.

"So I have to _babysit_ them?!"

"Yup. Cause' I just don't really like you."

"Asshole." She glared, crossing her arms tightly.

Shuhei just shrugged. "Whatever. Your parents think it's a great idea. You can leave now, I expect you to be back as soon as possible." He told them, returning to his paperwork.

The trio left the building, each annoyed for different reasons. Well, two were annoyed for the same reason, but that didn't need to be discussed. "Since it was originally my mission, I'm the team leader. Got that Sabaku?" Akito asked, looking at Satomi. He knew Natsumi wouldn't have a problem with him being in charge. She liked it when he took charge, though she would never admit that aloud.

"Whatever Uchiha. Just try and keep your hands off my sister. Remember that she hates you. And remember why, after all you did break her heart. What kind of man tries to kill the woman he loves' brother?" she shrugged and walked off, "I'll meet you at the gates in ten minutes."

Natsumi suppressed a groan and looked up at Akito. He looked slightly pained, probably from just thinking about what he had done to Toshiro. She wrapped her arms around him and stared at his face until he looked into hers. "I don't hate you…you know that. And Satomi's just being a pain cause' she's mad…you know how she is."

"Yeah." He said softly. Then he smirked. "But you know, I can still touch you however I want while we're gone, she doesn't scare me. And I have ways of being sneaky." He said, wrapping the arm she was holding around her waist and rubbing her scar.

She leaned into his hold and smiled. "You should be, cause' she'll rip your arm off like a marshmallow if she sees you do inappropriate things to me." She got up on her tip toes and then whispered into his ear, "So you better be sneaky, cause' if you don't have an arm, it's going to be rather difficult to please me isn't it?" she arched a brow and then pulled away from him. She needed to pack some things as well. "See you at the gate," she said, bringing her fingers to her mouth and blowing him a kiss. Then she was gone.

He smiled to himself and then went by his house. Since he had yet to unpack from his Anbu mission, he just grabbed that bag. After leaving a note for his father that he would be gone, he left, arriving at the gate shortly after. It didn't take long for Natsumi and Satomi to arrive, and once they did, the group left for Mist.

They had been off for a while when where they were going finally sunk in to Natsumi's head. She had just been too embarrassed in the room to really think about the location. They were going to Mist. Her stomach dropped and she almost stopped moving, but she didn't want to alarm Akito or Satomi. This was the place that had kidnapped her and where she was almost taken to live forever. Her sister was still ignorant of all the details from the experience, and she wanted to keep it that way.

The guard who had attempted to help her flashed into her mind. There was no face, since she had never gotten a chance to see him, but the sadness of his death was renewed. He had stolen her first kiss, stolen Akito's kiss, and she had never told anyone about it. Because she didn't want anyone to know, and she wanted Akito to think he had her first kiss, if that ever even happened.

It took them a day and a half to reach the border, and once they did they set up camp. Akito was even more annoyed by Satomi's presence, since it meant he couldn't share his tent with Natsumi like they always did. Once the perimeter had been set and they made a fire, Akito pulled out the scroll with the mission details on it and read it over. He sighed.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Tomorrow we should hit the village, and when we get there, we all need to henge ourselves and snoop around. See if you can figure out what all the fuss is about. After one, maybe two days of this we can leave. That's all we're authorized to do anyways. So no killing." He said, looking up at them. His comment was mostly directed at Natsumi, but he didn't want her to think that he was singling her out. Plus, he didn't really know how the other twin acted when on missions.

Satomi nodded and went off, pulling some food from her bag. She tossed each of them a portion of dried meat and informed them they would be eating it now. She was the medical specialist after all. Natsumi took a bite out of hers and walked off, mumbling something about taking the night's first watch. She wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. She was uncomfortable and wet, and she could feel the moisture in the air weighing her sand down. Slowly she removed her sand armor and let all the grains sit safely in her gourd. She would not allow this place to inhibit her.

Akito ate his dinner quickly and went to bed. He wanted this mission to be over as soon as possible. Because the sooner they got back to Konoha, the sooner he could completely ravish Natsumi. He sighed, knowing that he wouldn't get much sleep that night, since his dreams would be plagued by a pink haired beauty.

* * *

They made it to the village the next day and split up after putting together their disguises. Akito's search wasn't very interesting. Apparently Mist was having a power struggle over who would be the next Kage, since the people were unhappy with the one they currently had. And because things were done differently in Mist than in the other countries, ninja from all around were traveling to the village to have an all-out battle over the position.

After discovering this Akito left the village and went to their designated meeting point. He hoped that the girls didn't stay in the village for too long. It wasn't safe, and if they got hurt he would feel responsible. Not to mention murdered by Gaara and Sakura. But if this was all that was wrong, then the mission wasn't as important as he had originally thought. They would be home in about two days, and the younger Uchiha couldn't wait.

Satomi was the first to arrive. She walked through the trees, but looked completely different. Her hair was dark brown and her eyes were blue. She made a release hand sign and her disguise vanished, revealing her soft pink hair and her matching green eyes. "I found out some very interesting information Uchiha. What did you get?" she asked, actually seeming less hostile, but she was very good at being professional.

"Just about the fight for the Kage position. Nothing of real importance. It would explain why all these Mist ninja are on the move. What did you find out?" he asked, also dropping his henge. He had disguised himself as a blonde with brown eyes, his complete opposite.

She stopped in front of him and sighed, a very worried look crossing her face. "Well, Mist has made alliances with almost every small ninja village, such as Grass, Waterfall, Rain, and a few others. Not to mention that Earth country is with them. That's all I got today. Though I'm sure something big is going on, because I saw the Tsuchikage."

He looked at her sharply. This would definitely change things. "That's not good. I had hoped this stupid war would be over by now. These people really need to get over themselves." He said wearily. "Let's just wait and see what Natsumi finds out." She nodded and looked over, seeing a blonde woman drop down to the floor. She stretched and her guise vanished in a puff, revealing Natsumi, who walked over to them and smiled.

"Hello."

"What did you find out?" Akito asked her, wanting to get all the information out on a table.

She took in a deep breath, "Well I broke into the secret records." She began, making both Satomi and Akito almost fall back.

"Natsumi! It was an observing mission!" Satomi scolded.

"What if you had gotten caught?! We might not have been able to get to you in time!" Akito said, a headache beginning to form.

She huffed and crossed her arms, giving him a threatening glare. "I didn't get caught. _Obviously_. And I don't need you to save me. I _am_ the leader of the Suna Anbu."

He began to rub his temples. He definitely had a headache. "What did you find out?" he asked wearily.

Her annoyed gaze didn't change. "Anyways. I was reading through some things and I found a whole bunch of plans." She stopped and ran back to their bags, pulling out a scroll and a marker. She came back to them and sat down on the grass, laying the parchment out as well. She drew the countries, dotting the ninja villages in each. "Now everyone knows Yuki is marrying Shuhei, they really don't like how strong the alliance between Wind and Fire is getting. Because now Suna has more than its fair share of Konoha born ninja and has given up one of its bloodlines to Konoha, and vice versa." She explained, but the two just looked more irritated, they already knew that.

"But…I found some plans…for after we leave Konoha." She said seriously. "The smaller countries and the Earth Country are going to try and isolate Fire with the help of Mist, once a Mizukage has been chosen. Here," she began drawing the plans from memory, but Satomi trusted them to the mark. Natsumi was always right when it came to things like this and she had a photographic memory. "These are where the main groups will be, I'll have to talk to Shuhei and my father when we get back on setting up some parties and traps to get rid of the enemies, but it shouldn't be too hard. Especially since if something bad does happen, I'll know and we can prevent it."

"Excellent. Good job Natsumi. We should head back as soon as possible, I don't want to give them any more time to get more plans laid out before we can act." Akito said, now fully ignoring his headache.

She nodded and rolled up the scroll, running back and placing it in her pack. She pulled it on and tossed Satomi hers. She looked happy to be leaving. Natsumi grabbed Akito's and walked over to him, holding it out to him. "Ready?"

"More than ready. Let's go." He said, before leaping off into the trees. They needed to get home as soon as possible, so they would be traveling twice as fast as they had on their way to Mist.

The two women followed, keeping up with his pace. They moved along a cliff, following a river that led straight towards Konoha, so it was the surest way to go. Natsumi stopped instantly, moving forward from the inertia. She looked back with wide eyes and yelled, letting her sand spiral out around her. At least ten men jumped towards her, all Mist ninja. She touched the bark of the tree and leapt off towards them, spinning in the air and wrapping them all with her moist sand. She closed her hands to fists and tried to crush them, but it was only effective on a few. She growled and landed on the side of another nearby tree.

Satomi stopped and looked back, going wide eyed. "Natsumi!" she yelled, bounding back towards her, seeing more Mist ninja coming to attack her. She slammed her fist into the nearest one and shoved him into the tree.

Akito's sharingan had activated the second he felt the sinister chakra in the area. He swiftly drew his katana and engaged in a sword fight with one of the ninja. He had to be careful, because Mist ninja were trained how to fight with swords, and were really good at it. So the man he was fighting would be a bit more difficult to kill than normal. "Does anyone know how they discovered us?" Akito asked, finally taking down the man he was fighting and moving on to another.

"It was Natsumi!" Satomi yelled over at him, slamming her fist into one of the ninja's faces and twisting his head halfway round.

"What?! How is this my fault?!" the younger twin screamed, flipping back and grabbing onto the shoulders of two men. She sent a wave of her chakra into them, and their insides slowly began to burn and erupt in pain. She jumped back, avoiding a sword. She kept dodging, easily keeping away from the blade due to her speed.

Satomi grabbed onto a thick branch, ripping it from the tree and batting a bulk of the men around her away. "Natsumi's chakra levels are impossible to conceal. No matter how hard she tries."

"No! I cloaked myself!"

The elder girl glared over at her sister. "Don't lie to yourself Natsumi. Why do you think Akito can always sense you? Your levels are too high, you just can't. Toshiro can't and you can't."

"Oh…right." The younger blinked and then let out an odd sound, almost getting a sword run through her. She flipped back and fell to the forest floor, landing gracefully.

Akito almost groaned. He cursed Shuhei for telling them to come with him. He could already be on his way back by now, information in hand. This was precisely why he liked to go on solo missions. Fast as lightning, Akito was next to Natsumi, bringing down the man that was attacking her. Then he moved on to someone else. He wanted to conserve his charka until he absolutely needed it. "Well that's just great. If I had known this would happen, I'd have made you wait outside the village." he said, dodging a blade.

Natsumi's foot slammed down onto the head of the man attacking Akito. She stood in front of him and glared hatefully at him. "You really want to lose me? Call me a liability _one_ more time." She threatened, spinning around and roundhouse kicking a man that ran at them. "I don't _do_ infiltration missions. I'm an assassin. I _kill_. So get mad at Shuhei or don't, I just won't go on missions with you anymore." And then she was gone, pulling out two kunai and slamming them into two guys' necks. Now she was really pissed. She couldn't help that she had been gifted with her father's chakra. _And _Akito would rather be without her. She forced back her tears and took a stance much like the Hyuuga's, jabbing at the men she passed and taking them down quickly. She saw from the corner of her eye a sword and dodged out of the way, sliding towards the cliff. She glanced back and saw the steep side, with black waters threatening her from the bottom.

Satomi saw her sister with her back to the water and ran to her rescue immediately. She jumped down from the trees and slammed her fist into the man, nailing him into the ground, creating a mass tremor and breaking up the earth. Natsumi tried to catch her balance and then let out a shrill scream. The earth beneath her slid down the side of the cliff and took her with it. "Natsumi!" Satomi shrieked, stark terror filling her face.

Akito looked to where Natsumi was and his eyes widened. He wouldn't make it in time to catch her. At the moment he was fighting off two very skilled swordsmen that were quite successfully dodging his attacks. He cursed his luck. Not only would she fall if he couldn't get over there, but she could get hurt. On top of all that, she was mad at him, because he just _had_ to open his stupid mouth. Damnit.

Natsumi's sand burst from her gourd, but its movements were slow, due to the high humidity and the water in the air. It formed around her hands and she reached out, trying to grab the cliff wall as she fell. Her hands dug into the wall, but her sand was too moist to keep its hard shell up. A sharp rock tore through the barrier and ripped a huge gash on her hand. She winced and gasped, looking down at the water below that was coming closer. _Oh God_, she thought, letting her tears out. In a last attempt her sand shot down and tried to form a net to catch her, but the force and speed from her fall shattered the last of her sand and she plunged into the dark cold depths of the roaring river.

"Natsumi!" Akito yelled, beginning to hack away at the two men he was fighting. Suddenly he could see things even more sharply, as if his sharingan had become stronger. His movements became rushed, and he was able to bring one of the men down. He looked over at the last man, and saw him gasp audibly. Then he brought him into a genjutsu, not caring that he would be wasting chakra. He was pissed and these bastards were going to die.

The man screamed in agony and dropped dead instantly. Suddenly his eyes were in pain, and he gripped his head. Something was happening to him, and he didn't know what. Satomi stared wide eyed at him, "Akito…" she said, pointing to her own eye to indicate there was something going on with his. He looked over at her and she gasped, dodging just in time to avoid the burst of black fire that engulfed the tree behind her.

He shut his eyes quickly. "Sorry." he ground out, still clutching his head. He had a pretty good idea about what was happening to him, but he had heard from his father that the only way for it to happen was if you killed your best friend. Obviously he hadn't, so maybe the way to get it is to lose someone really important to you. Because that was what had happened. He had lost Natsumi.

He clenched his teeth, getting control over his new power. Slowly he opened his eyes, just in time to dodge an attack that had been aimed at him. He looked over to Satomi, pleased that he could control it now, since no black flames appeared. "Kill the rest." he ordered, before running at the cliff and jumping off. He _would_ save her, no matter what.

* * *

"Hey, Captain." A Mist ninja called over to his leader. They were patrolling the river and had come across a bank where an unconscious, soaking wet pink haired woman lay. The group of five crowded around Natsumi's lifeless body. "She dead?"

The leader laughed and kneeled down, grabbing her short pink hair and showing her face to the group. "Do you know who this is men?" Most of them were younger ninja and shook their heads. "This is the princess of Suna. Sabaku no Natsumi. A while ago Mist tried to arrange a marriage with Suna for her. But when we got a hold of her that damned Uchiha came after her. We lost a lot of man power because of him."

"Then we should just leave her right? Uchiha Akito isn't someone I want to mess with." One of the men said with a sigh. He didn't think the woman was worth it, not matter how pretty she was.

"No. We take her, this is a prize men. We are being rewarded for our efforts in the war against Fire and Wind. I might even be named Mizukage for this catch." He smirked, grabbing Natsumi and pulling her up.

"Sir…" another guy spoke up and reached for her red shirt. He lifted it up slightly and showed the group the mark on her stomach. "I really think this is a bad idea. It's the Uchiha Crest."

The older man looked over her shoulder and at the scarred skin. "What? Is Uchiha Akito going to pop out of nowhere? He is in Konoha. Relax." He ordered, throwing Natsumi over his shoulder and patting her butt. "Oh yes. She really is a lovely specimen, hard to think she's a vicious assassin."

He started off then, with the others following. They looked after him, staring at the girl. "No it's not…it's always the innocent looking ones." One said. They took off then, heading back to Mist.

* * *

Akito climbed out of the river, having seen a patch of dirt that was wet. He squat down and felt the ground. Then he followed the path of water droplets. When he saw the footprints he growled. Nobody would take _his_ woman and get away with it. He sped off into the forest, expertly tracking the group. From what he could tell, there were only five. Excellent. They would be easy to kill.

They were headed back towards Mist, so Akito sped up. He landed in the middle of the group suddenly, katana drawn. He quickly cut off one of the ninja's heads and looked around at the rest of the group, sharingan activated. His eyes locked with the man who was holding Natsumi. When he saw where the man's hand was, his glare intensified, and killing intent rolled off him in waves. He pointed his sword at the man. "You're dead."

Then he moved in for the kill, expertly taking out another enemy. He could tell with his sharingan that Natsumi wasn't breathing, so he needed to get this over with as fast as possible. "I told you we shouldn't have messed with her!" one of the ninja yelled, barely avoiding Akito's sword.

"Smart man. Too bad nobody will get to appreciate it." Akito told him, swiftly pointing two fingers together and shooting his arm out. Lightning coursed through his arm and shot at the man, hitting him straight in the heart. Three down and two to go.

The last ninja made the mistake of trying to run away from the battle. When he saw this Akito began to laugh darkly. "I didn't know Mist bred such cowards." he said, appearing in front of the man. He stabbed him directly between the eyes, and watched as the light left them.

Now all he had left was the leader, who was holding Natsumi. When he looked around he saw that the man had vanished. Picking up Natsumi's chakra signature, Akito sped off. He caught up with the leader and ripped Natsumi's unconscious body from his grasp, throwing her over his shoulder. Then he pinned the man by his neck to a nearby tree.

The man frantically tried to break his hold, but the young Uchiha would not let up. He felt his eyes shift towards the Mangekyou, and forced his captive to look at him. The man screamed out in agony as he was slowly killed in the Tsukuyomi. Once he was dead Akito let him fall to the forest floor. He leapt out of the tree, landing on the leader's lifeless corpse, crushing his head in the process.

His task done, he walked a bit away and gently laid Natsumi down on the ground. He deactivated his sharingan, and placed his head on her chest. Her heartbeat was faint. Thinking quickly, he tilted her head back and pressed his lips against hers, sending air into her lungs. When she didn't respond he tried it again. Still no response. He began compressions on her chest. "Come on squirt, don't you dare die on me. Your life is mine remember? Don't you dare go back on your word!" He said, praying to whatever God was listening to spare her. Then he leaned down and forced air into her lungs once more. She began to cough against his mouth, and he pulled away. When her eyes opened slightly he smiled down at her, relieved. She was alive.

She turned over and coughed louder, getting rid of all the water that had entered her system. She was breathing harshly now, but at least she was breathing. She groaned and lay back on the ground and stared up at Akito's face. "I'm not gonna die that easy…" she mumbled sleepily. She was trying to regulate her heart and her breathing. Suddenly her eyes flashed open and she sat up warily. "How could you!"

He sat back, startled. He had expected a thank you at least. "How could I what?" he asked, confused.

She stood up, wobbling a bit, but her stance was solid. She pointed down at him, fuming. "My first kiss! You stole it! It was supposed to be special and romantic!"

He stood up as well and crossed his arms. "Oh please. We both know that that wasn't your first kiss." he said, smirking. Then it fell off his face as he realized what he had just revealed. The only thought running through his mind was _shit_.

Her reaction was slow, but her eyes went wide, and she pointed at him accusingly. "I KNEW IT!" she yelled, getting in his face, standing on her tip toes to give herself some elevation. "I kneeeeeeeeeeeeeew it! Ever since the festival, I knew it. There was something about your voice. I can't believe you! Why didn't you tell me you were the guard?!" she shouted, then going beet red. "Oh my God." She backed away from him then. "OH MY GOD! You did…we did…" she went a darker red, if possible. "We pretended…" then the whole memory was as clear as day. She had screamed out his name in their fake ecstasy. "You kissed me!" she pointed again. She could feel her head spinning. "I thought…all these years…it was YOU!" she walked around in circles then, running her hands through her hair and tugging at it. "Oh my God…I can't believe this, I thought that my kiss had been stolen…I was so upset…" she stopped and faced him once more. "Do you know how terrible I felt about that?! I cried because I thought some nice guy had stolen your kiss!"

He blinked, processing everything she had just said. She had cried? Now he felt even worse. "Well…I was going to tell you when it was all over, because if you knew while I was playing the guard it wouldn't have been as convincing. But then you screamed my name…and I was shocked, but happy at the same time. And before I knew it, I was kissing you. That's what made me decide not to tell you. I thought you would be really upset with me, because I knew that that wasn't how you wanted your first kiss to go. And then when the guard 'died', you were so upset, that telling you would have only made it worse. At least…that's what I thought at the time." He tried to explain.

"You're right Akito," she exasperated, rolling her eyes. "Make me think that my brother had killed the one person who had tried to help me, _that_ was the right thing. Do you know how guilty I felt?" she pounded her fist on her head and let out a deep breath. "You took my kiss that I was saving for you…and you didn't even tell me…"

He crossed his arms. "Well you were saving it for me anyways, so I don't see what the big deal is there. And it wasn't much of a kiss. If you remember, you didn't respond."

She blushed again and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. After a bit of silence she finally huffed, "Well if you remember, ding ding, I didn't know it was you."

He walked over to her then and gently grasped her chin, lifting it towards him. "Hm, then I wonder what you'd do if I were to kiss you now? Knowing that it was me?" he asked, tracing her jaw line.

A small shiver shot up her spine from his light touch. "I don't know…why don't you try it and find out."

Not needing any more prompting, he dipped his head and kissed her softly, trying to make up for the kiss he had stolen. He brought his other hand up and ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying their intimate contact.

She closed her eyes, leaning into his kiss. She loved the feel of his soft lips. She finally pulled away when she needed to breathe. She had wanted their 'first' kiss to be sweet and soft, tender and filled with love. She went wide eyed at her thought and stared up at Akito. Before she could stop herself she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him feverishly, not letting her lips leave his.

Surprised by her fervor, he stumbled backwards a bit. Recovering quickly, he held her by her thighs and brought her closer to him. He returned her kiss equally, and after a while, he brought his tongue forward and traced her lips, asking for entrance. She quickly complied, everything about him was intoxicating. The feel of his body pressed against hers, his scent, and his taste, which was something completely new to her. She touched his tongue with hers, breaking into a fit of giggles at the odd feel. She felt like a teenager. She pulled away from him and kissed his cheek, moving along his jaw and then down his throat. She bit down on his skin, giving him a dark red mark. She wanted a mark of her own on his flawless body.

He hissed at the feel of her ministrations on his neck. He walked forward then, until her back was against a tree. He pressed his body into hers and leaned forward until his mouth was next to her ear. He licked the shell of her ear and then nipped at her earlobe. Then he began to trail small kisses down her neck, stopping at the juncture where her neck met her collar bone. He sucked on the flesh there, and then bit it harshly, smoothing the red spot over with his tongue.

She moaned softly. Her body always reacted to his touch, and this was further than he had ever gone with his mouth. She let her fingers run through his hair. She gripped him harshly and pulled his head back, making him look at her. "I like when you kiss me," she smirked, forcing his head forward and kissing him once more, trying to be the dominant one this time.

He smirked as he kissed her, and then pulled away. "Good, because I'm going to do it more often now that I've tasted you." He said, swooping his head down for another passionate kiss.

"You're so stupid," she mumbled against his lips, nibbling on his lower lip and giving it a small pull. "If you had told me sooner, I could have kissed you a lot more by now." She gasped out as he covered her open mouth with his, sealing her lips with his.

He slid his hands up her legs until he was cupping her bottom. Then he pulled her forward until their hips met in a more intimate contact. He groaned slightly, his tongue fighting for dominance with hers. He froze suddenly when he felt Satomi's chakra coming closer. Oh he really hated her now. Slowly he pulled away and sat her legs on the ground. With a final peck on the lips he backed away from her, so that when the elder twin arrived it wouldn't look too suspicious. But Natsumi's grip on his shirt didn't release until he took another full step away from her. She sent him a pleading look, wanting more than she had just gotten.

Satomi walked through a break in the trees and saw the two. "Oh Natsumi, thank goodness you're safe." She smiled truly, running and hugging her sister. Natsumi hugged her back tightly and nodded.

"Yes I'm fine, thanks to Akito." She said happily, giving the Uchiha a bright smile. She was so happy right now she could hardly even bear it.

Satomi glanced back at Akito and then back to her sister. "Akito has the ultimate sharingan. It was pretty impressive."

Natsumi blinked and stared at Akito, "You do?! When?"

He shrugged. "When you fell off the cliff my eyes changed. I almost killed Satomi on accident, but luckily she got out of the way before any real damage was done. I used it on the man who had taken you in order to test it out, and it's really strong." He told her, inwardly pleased that she seemed so impressed.

"Wow." She gaped, looking starry eyed. "Wait, I thought you could only get it when you killed your best friend?"

"Probably thought he lost you and flipped out. Same thing basically." Satomi shrugged and started walking off. "Well let's go. I took care of the rest like you said. I would like to get back, I don't like being close to you for this long Uchiha." And with that she took off into the trees. Natsumi watched her and laughed, glancing back at Akito. She was in front of him in the blink of an eye and pulled him down to her level, kissing him full on the lips. She pulled away and then took to the trees after her sister.

He let out a sigh and then followed, not wanting to be outdone. They needed to get back as soon as possible anyways, so that Shuhei, Naruto, and Gaara could be informed of what they had discovered. There would be time for ravishing Natsumi later.


	10. Complicated

**Tempest**

_Chapter Ten_

-Complicated-

"And I think that should be fine to keep the borders free. I'll handle it myself if need be." Natsumi explained, pointing to the areas she had circled. This new version was more geographically complete than her makeshift drawing, but she still remembered where they planned to place everyone. "If there are any complications, I can handle an area alone. I am fast, I don't take prisoners, and I can kill many at one time." She stood straight then, watching Naruto and Shuhei evaluate the plan. Gaara simply nodded, since he never doubted Natsumi. She was one of his and Toshiro's strategists, second only to Shikamaru. "The Konoha ninja can keep the borders with Mist under control, and Suna will make sure the west is taken care of." She gestured to each area, brushing some dirt from her diagram.

Satomi just leaned against the back wall. She was never interested in the war meetings and the planning. She just went to the hospital anyway and took care of their injuries. Gaara turned to the dark haired man beside him, "What do you think Akito?"

"It makes sense to me. With our combined forces they won't be able to penetrate our defenses easily. And Natsumi will have a premonition before they attack anyways." Akito said.

"How is it again you can see these things?" Shuhei asked a bit doubtfully. He had never actually seen her have one of these premonitions. But he had heard every time she had one it always came true to her specifications.

Natsumi blinked and stared at the younger blonde, a bit irritated. She wasn't used to people doubting her. "My mother thinks its intuition amplified. Both my mother and father had dreams of one another when they spent time together at Sasuke-sama's execution. Dreams that turned out to be one dream in the same. Not to mention it came true. I can't explain it, it just happens."

He nodded, this being sufficient enough for him. "Well, sounds like a plan. We will be sure to keep in constant contact." Naruto clapped his hands together. "Excellent work Natsumi, you Akito, and Satomi did a wonderful job."

"Thanks Uncle Naruto, well if that's all I'm off." She waved and left the room in a hurry, grabbing Akito on her way out.

"Well now that that's over with I'm leaving." Satomi said, walking out of the room. Gaara stared after her and sighed, he looked back at his friend and the annoying blonde clone.

"Hey Gaara, how come Natsumi isn't the Kazekage?" Shuhei asked, leaning his hands on the table and taking in the battle plan.

The redhead took in a deep breath. "Because Natsumi doesn't care about politics. Toshiro is better with that sort of thing, and he enjoys people, since he cares about everyone. I don't know if you noticed, but Natsumi is very selfish."

"Oh…" Shuhei looked up and then ran around to the old Kazekage. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey Gaara!" suddenly Gaara's sand rose and he was gone in an instant. No way in hell was he going to deal with that. Shuhei let out a loud whine. "Awwww! I was going to ask him if he wanted some ramen!"

* * *

Akito and Natsumi walked out onto the streets. She attached herself to his arm and smiled up at him happily. She looked past his head as a shadow passed over her face, and noticed that there were quite a few dark clouds in the sky today. "I hope it doesn't rain." She shivered. "I hate the rain, I can't ever do anything." She laughed and snuggled into him more. She let go and grabbed his hand tightly, not able to resist any longer, but she knew he would be too embarrassed to do such an act in the middle of the busy street. She dragged him towards a back way and shoved him against the wall. Before he could even question her actions her mouth was on his, kissing him deeply.

He gripped her waist and returned her kiss in kind. Suddenly he stiffened and pulled away. At her look of confusion he sighed. "What does this make us?" he asked her. He had thought about this on their return journey, and decided that he needed to ask her. He knew that he loved her. He always had and he always would. But he needed to know how she felt about him. Anything less than caring for him and loving him would only be considered him taking advantage of her. And he would never do that. Plus, when he made love to her it would be exactly that. They would both be in love with the other, and together, they would make love between them.

She searched his eyes for some hidden meaning. "I don't understand." She said truthfully, running her hands through his dark hair in a soothing manner. "What do you mean? We're us."

"No, I mean, what exactly is our relationship? I need to know." He clarified, rubbing her hips with his thumbs.

Her brow scrunched in confusion. She really didn't understand why he was asking such a thing. "I don't know," she laughed, starting to seem very awkward with the conversation. "Why does it matter?"

He dropped his hands from her waist. "It matters to me. I love you, but I need to know how you feel about me."

"Akito, I…" she stopped. She couldn't lie, not anymore. After being with him for so long, she was feeling like her old self again. But she couldn't. She could not allow herself to love him…too late for that. But she wouldn't let him know…she couldn't. Her head started to hurt. She could not stand much more of this strain. She let her hands lower from his hair and stared at the ground. She didn't know, and thus she couldn't say anything.

Pain flashed across his face as he mistook her silence for a negative. He had thought that she at least cared on a personal level, not just on a possessive one, but he had been wrong before. "I see. You know Natsumi, eventually people get tired of being used. Think about it." He said, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. He couldn't be around her any more, it hurt too much.

She went wide eyed, pressing her hands against the wall where he had just been. Did he misunderstand her lack of answer? She touched over her heart and shut her eyes tightly. Her pain was renewed, but for a new reason. She had seen pain on his face, the pain of rejection. She knew that must have been the look he saw when he had left her in his hotel room. She sunk to her knees, still touching the wall, and began to cry. She wanted to chase after him, get angry and tell him he was wrong, but he was right. And that hurt the most. She _did_ use him. He catered to her needs and gave her the reactions she wanted, and did so only because he knew it would please her. Because he was trying to show her how much he loved her. While she had taken it and absorbed it, giving him nothing but spite in return. She _was_ bad for him, just like Sasuke had said.

She couldn't keep her sobs silent any longer, and let her voice break. She loved him, she knew she did. Even after everything he had done to her. That was when she realized she _had_ forgiven him. Now she was just being a coward and hiding from the one thing she wanted most, because it was the only thing that could hurt her.

"I'm sorry Akito…" she whispered sadly, leaning her head against the wall.

* * *

Akito let his front door slam as he made his way to his room. "Akito." He heard from one of the living room chairs.

He halted in his steps and turned slightly, seeing his father reading a book about sword techniques. "Yes Father?" he asked wearily. He really just wanted to go outside and hit something. When he was upset, he didn't allow himself to just sit there and wallow in it. Instead, he got rid of it through exercise. Plus, if he did that, then his father was pleased that he was training.

"Do not take your upset out on the house." Sasuke said simply, turning the page.

"Yes Father." He replied, resuming his walk to the backyard. He would cause too much damage to use the room they had in the house.

He began a series of taijutsu moves, intent on perfecting them. As he went through the motions, he thought about Natsumi and grew angrier. He knew that if she were to come to him wanting something he would give it to her, even now, because he couldn't deny her anything. Suddenly his father was behind him, attacking him with his own set of taijutsu moves.

Grateful for the elder's moment of understanding, the two Uchiha sparred each other, both equally dodging the other's attacks. When they heard a rumble in the sky they stopped and bowed respectfully to one another, as was their custom. Sasuke walked over to his son and placed his hand on Akito's shoulder. "Do not trouble yourself over such trivial things. You must let her come to you."

Akito smiled slightly. Was his father, the unemotional Uchiha Sasuke, trying to give him advice on women? "Yes Father." He said, feeling a bit better.

Sasuke began to walk back towards the house. When he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder at his son. "She has nice bone structure." He said, entering their abode.

Akito stared at the door, dumbfounded. Had his father just complimented Natsumi? What was the world coming to? He shook his head and made his way inside as well. Dinner needed to be made, and once that was done he was going to go to bed. He always slept extremely well when it rained, and after that last few days, he could really use it.

* * *

It was close to midnight, and the rain was pouring down hard. Natsumi walked through the downpour, not caring that she was soaking wet. Not even her horrible memories could make her feel worse than she already had. So now…the rain did nothing but make her wet. She stopped and looked up at the large Uchiha house. It was dark and lifeless, so they must both be asleep. She went through the gate to the backyard, and hesitated before stepping up to one of Akito's windows. What if he didn't want to see her? She held back the wave of sadness that threatened more tears to her eyes. She wouldn't be able to handle his rejection a second time.

She raised her fist nervously and tapped on his window three times, hoping that would be enough to wake him. Not even a second later the window opened and Akito looked at her with unsurprised eyes, wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers. He had felt her coming about a mile away.

Seeing that she was soaked, he lifted her into his room and carried her into the bathroom. He wordlessly set her down on the tile and handed her a towel. Then he left, reappearing with one of his shirts and a pair of his boxers for her to change into. "Put these on." He said, holding the clothes out to her. He didn't want her to get sick from walking in the rain. Then he left, shutting the door behind him so that she could dress in private.

His kindness hurt a lot more than she thought it would. She almost would have preferred if he rejected her and slammed the window in her face. At least that way she could feel good about herself. But that wasn't the case…and now she only felt worse. She really was a terrible person. She unzipped her shirt and then took off her bra, drying herself with the towel. She didn't even bother getting up from the floor as she took her shoes off along with her skirt, shorts, and underwear. She decided to take all the time she needed drying off her body. She had to plan what she said, she couldn't mess up this time or who knew what would happen. Once she was dry and her hair was as dry as it could be, she slipped on his shirt, not allowing herself to dwell in its feel or its wonderful smell. She got up and put his boxers on as well and then hung her things to dry.

With a deep breath she came out of his bathroom and walked over to his bed, not really knowing if she was welcomed or not. She could say what she needed and then sleep in a spare room. She knew which ones were available.

Akito looked up from his sitting position on his bed, his eyes trailing over her body. His father was right, she did have nice bone structure. He almost smirked at the thought. But she looked like she had something on her mind, and given the fact that she had walked so far in the rain he decided it must be important. "What is it?" he asked softly, wanting more than anything to reach out and touch her.

She looked down at the dark ground, unable to meet his gaze in the darkness. The sound of the rain was only making her more nervous. "I thought about what you said…and I wanted to tell you…that…I forgive you…well I forgave you a long time ago...and I'm sorry for how I was." She said, finally looking up and locking her eyes with his gaze.

His eyes widened at her statement. He had waited five long years to hear her say those three words, and he would wait five more to hear the others. But this in itself was big. His father was right, he needed to wait for her to come to him, and come to him she did. And now she was in his bedroom, looking completely alluring in his clothes, telling him that she forgave him.

He stood slowly and took her hands in his. "I forgive you." He murmured, before kissing her softly. Then he pulled her onto the bed with him, indicating that she was allowed to stay. She fell back with him and embraced him lovingly. He lay down on his back and stared up at her. She was hovering over him, on her knees and lowering her face to his.

"Akito…" she took a deep breath and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

He stared up at her, completely wide eyed. He knew what he had heard, he just couldn't believe it. So overcome with joy was he that he sat up and kissed her passionately, placing his hand on the back of her head to keep her there until he was done with her. When he pulled away, it was with a true, genuine smile. "I love you too squirt. I always will." He said, resting his forehead against hers.

She was wide eyed, caught off guard by his abrupt action. She stared into his eyes and smiled back, her old beautiful smile. She had always loved his smile and when she saw it, it made her heart flutter. "I will always be yours," she said sweetly, placing her hands on his legs and leaning into him. "And I will always love you until the day I die."

He sighed and closed his eyes in contentment. She had absolutely _no_ idea how happy she was making him. "Then you'll have to love me for a really long time, because I won't let you die on me anytime soon." He said, opening his eyes once more.

She laughed and pushed him down, snuggling into his arms and resting her head on his chest. "That's good. Because I plan on making you the happiest man alive. I'll make you smile every day." She promised, closing her eyes and letting out a content sigh.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, inhaling her scent. "Deal. And in return, I will treat you the way you deserve. As my princess." He mumbled, closing his eyes and becoming really sleepy. She couldn't keep the smile off her face, she was so at peace. Something she hadn't felt in a very long time. The two fell asleep then, complete amity between them.


	11. Confrontation

**Tempest**

_Chapter Eleven_

-Confrontation-

Akito let out sigh as he opened his eyes. He looked over at the window and saw that the sun had already risen. He had actually slept in. Usually he was up at least a half an hour before sunrise. He rolled his head back over in Natsumi's direction and smiled. It must be her fault, since he knew she wasn't a morning person.

He sat up slightly so that he loomed over her. He nuzzled her neck tenderly, causing her to let out a sigh. "Come on, we need to go make breakfast." He murmured, kissing her cheek.

She groaned, swatting at his cheek playfully and then leaving her hand there. She rubbed his face and looked up at him. He was so handsome and so kind, it was hard to believe such a perfect man could exist. "Can we just stay in bed all day and snuggle? I don't wanna get up." She smiled.

He smiled in return. "I wish. Maybe on a day when my father isn't home. If I don't make breakfast he'll just come in here, or I'll have to listen to him complain about it later."

She sighed and nodded. It probably wasn't a good idea to keep Sasuke waiting. "Okay," she snuck out of his arms and got out of bed, stretching slowly. She hurried into the bathroom, because as much as she loved wearing his boxers, she wasn't one for loose clothing. So she slipped them off and got her dried underwear and shorts and put them on. When she came back out she was still in his shirt, but she liked it that way. "Come on!" she tugged his arm before he could open his drawers to get a shirt on. "There's no time to waste!" she giggled, secretly just wanting to keep him shirtless.

When they entered the kitchen, Akito looked into the cabinets to see what they had. "Hm. Let's make waffles." He decided. He hadn't had any in a long time, and they actually had all of the required ingredients.

There was a loud clatter, since at the mention of waffles Natsumi had dropped the pan she was pulling out. She stared at him, wide eyed, "What?!"

"Waffles. Do you know how to make them?" he asked, pulling out a carton of eggs and sitting them on the counter.

Her face was dark red now, "W-well I understand the concept b-but…I've never actually made them." She fumbled with her fingers then, unable to meet his gaze. She couldn't believe he was asking her to do such a thing on a whim. It was supposed to be planned and romantic and sweet.

"Don't worry about it. I'll teach you. I make waffles all the time." He said, getting the flower down from the pantry.

"WHAT?!" she shrieked, in front of him instantly and smacking his chest pitifully with her hand. "All the time?! Are you insane?! With who?!" she demanded, tears forming in her beautiful eyes.

Her behavior and questions were confusing him. "With my father. Who else?" he asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

She went wide eyed and backed away from him like he had some kind of skin disease. She put her hands up in the air. The look on her face was only that of pure disgust. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?! THAT'S DISGUSTING, PEDOPHILIC, _AND_ INCEST!" she screamed.

"What are you talking about?! It's just breakfast!" he yelled back at her. What was her problem?

She pointed at him accusingly. "Waffles is _not_ 'just breakfast', Akito. It just isn't!"

Something pricked in the back of his mind. He vaguely remembered Gaara and Sakura saying something about making waffles when they were little and in Natsumi's hospital room. And then again after they had played handball five years ago. But they had been completely sexual both times. Understanding dawned on him then, but he decided to mess with her.

He crossed his arms and raised a brow. "Then what else is it?" he asked, wanting to hear what she'd say.

Her blush only worsened, "Well it's…it's uh…" she bit her lip and looked up at him, and then took a deep breath. "It's having sex." She finally got out, covering her face with her hands as if she could hide the embarrassment.

He couldn't help himself, but in that moment he began to laugh. The whole situation was just so funny to him. It seemed that the elder Sabakus had completely scarred their children for life when it came to normal things. And he thought that _he_ was the messed up one. Natsumi glared at him unsuccessfully. "Stop it! It's not funny!"

"Yes it is. I was talking about the food waffles, not sex. I never realized your parents were so messed up." He said, his laughter dying down. The he looked at her seriously. "As I said before, when I take you, it will be in my bed."

She stopped, staring at him innocently. She could imagine the tussle in those soft silky sheets. Nothing but their naked bodies pressed against one another. She felt her stomach drop and bit down on her lower lip. She really, really wanted to make waffles with him. "Okay," she finally said, starting to pull out some pancake mix. "We'll just make pancakes." She told him, mixing the batter quickly and expertly. It didn't take her long, and for the first time Akito actually witnessed Natsumi do something herself. He knew she could do things on her own, she just didn't want to, and therefore it was truly a mystery to him. She poured the batter into the pan and watched it as it cooked, flipping just at the right time.

He took some bacon out of the fridge and began to fry it. Just as they finished making breakfast Sasuke walked into the kitchen and wordlessly sat down at the head of the table. Akito and Natsumi put together the plates and set them down. Then Natsumi filled three glasses with orange juice. Once that was done they both sat down at the table and began to eat. Sasuke sighed and set his fork down after taking a bite. Akito stopped eating as well, waiting for what his father was going to say. Natsumi just stuck another forkful of pancake in her mouth. She was such a great cook. She looked at the two, noticing they had stopped and felt a bit awkward, chewing more slowly now.

"Is her being here going to become a regular thing?" Sasuke asked, glancing at the pink haired girl.

Akito nodded slightly. "Yes Father, is that a problem?" he asked, slightly glaring at the older Uchiha.

"Not yet." He replied, resuming his eating.

Natsumi went wide eyed and looked between the two. Should she leave? She couldn't tell if Sasuke wanted her gone or not, his answer was a bit vague. Finally she swallowed and locked eyes with Akito. "Um…I can leave if you want me to…"

"No, you're staying." He said firmly, taking a drink of his orange juice. Sasuke just continued to eat, not really caring. His son knew that if he really wanted her to leave he would have made it perfectly clear.

She just looked down at her plate, too nervous to say anything. Which was really saying something, if Sasuke could get her, of all people, to shut up. Their breakfast continued in silence then, except the soft clatter of forks and plates.

After a few moments Sasuke sighed and once more put his fork down. And once more, Akito did the same, slightly annoyed at his father. What now? The elder Uchiha looked at his son, confusion showing clearly on his face. "Incest?" he asked, having overheard their yelling match from earlier.

Akito held in a groan of annoyance. Damn Natsumi and her waffle drama. He stood and took his plate over to the sink. "You don't want to know." Was all he said as he began to wash his dishes.

Natsumi watched him. Not wanting to be alone with Sasuke at the table, she got up and began to help him. She felt really awkward now, and didn't know if she should stay any longer. She leaned over to Akito and whispered so Sasuke wouldn't hear. "Um, I think I'm going to go change and find my mom…I have to talk to her about something…" she trailed off and glanced back at the still eating Uchiha. Hesitantly, she got on her toes and kissed Akito's cheek, walking off then and disappearing down the hall.

Once she was gone Sasuke stood and handed his plate to Akito, who washed it. Then the elder Uchiha left, not really wanting to be around the two. He had better things to do anyways, like pummel Naruto into the ground for no reason.

Alone in the kitchen, Akito sighed. He should probably explain to Natsumi about his father's behavior. He knew to a stranger it could seem odd and make them uncomfortable. He walked back to his room and knocked lightly before opening the door. Seeing that Natsumi was dressed, he walked over to his closet and pulled out some clothes, putting them on shortly after. "Listen, about my father-" he began, suddenly interrupted by knocking on the front door. He sighed and went to see who it was. Opening it, he looked down to see a small Chuunin messenger. The boy bowed respectfully.

"Hello Uchiha-sama. Hokage-sama requested your presence in his office." The boy told him.

"Very well, I will be on my way shortly." Akito replied before shutting the door in the boy's face. What could Shuhei possibly need him for this early in the day? He turned to see Natsumi standing behind him. "Shuhei needs to see me, so I guess I'll see you later?" he asked, vainly hiding the hope in his voice.

She stared at him for a while, but gave him a small smile. "Yeah probably. I just need to talk to my mom is all." She said, walking past him and once more kissing his cheek. She went out the door and disappeared in a swirl of sand before anything more could be said. She needed to find her mother before her fear and her emotions started getting out of control.

It wasn't hard to find the older pink haired woman, she mostly stayed in the hotel room, reading and relaxing. In Konoha she had no duties and she definitely enjoyed it. Natsumi let out a sigh of relief when she walked in and sensed there was no one else in the suite besides her mother. She ran in and jumped on the couch beside Sakura. "Mommy." She stated, leaning forward towards the woman. She looked just like a child right then, and when it came to her parents she was always their little girl.

Sakura stopped what she was doing and smiled at her daughter. "What is it sweetie?" she asked kindly. She would never say it aloud, but she loved it when her children came to her instead of Gaara for advice, especially when they called her mommy, as if they were still little. It just warmed her heart.

"Mom." She gave her a sad and confused look. "How do you know when you've found the one?"

Sakura sat up a bit, getting comfortable as she considered how to answer her daughter's question. "Well, with your father and me it clicked after our first dance together. When you move as one person with your partner is when you know that you're compatible. And then, when your dad and I slept in the same bed a few times after we met, he was able to sleep the whole night through." She told her daughter.

She slid her shoes off and then pulled her knees to her chest. "I told Akito I loved him last night," she admitted, waiting to see her mother's reaction.

Sakura just sat there, stunned. She wasn't particularly happy about it, but she was at the same time. She of all people knew how important it was to tell the man you loved that you did love him. "What did he say in return?" she asked cautiously. If he had hurt her daughter again she was going to kill him, brutally.

"He said exactly what I knew he'd say."

"Which was?" Sakura asked, leaning towards Natsumi in anticipation.

"That he would love me until the day he died. But I mean he's been telling me he loves me for five years, so I knew already." She said with a simple sigh. "I do love him…I always have. But…" she stopped then and rested her chin on her knees. "I don't know if I could ever handle something like that ever again…it just hurt too much…"

Sakura placed her hand on her daughter's knee and rubbed it soothingly, giving her an empathetic smile. She knew exactly how Natsumi felt. "Well sweetie, when you find the one that you're meant to be with, you shouldn't expect everything to be perfect. Because nothing in life is. There will be times when your heart hurts, and when you just want to strangle them. But at the end of the day, you're happy that you chose them, and that they chose you in return. Your father and I didn't have a perfect relationship in the beginning, we had to work at it. And even now sometimes we argue. But we still love each other deeply." She said, hoping that she had explained it thoroughly enough to help the younger woman out.

Natsumi lifted her hand and placed it over her mother's. She loved her mom so much. She was so kind and so amazing. She was so beautiful, and she knew that she had gotten her smile from her. "I know you don't like him Mom…but I really love him…he makes me so happy…thank you though. I really needed to hear that." She smiled happily, Sakura mirroring her expression perfectly.

There was a pounding at the door. Natsumi blinked and looked over at her mother, who seemed just as confused. The younger of the two got up and went to the door, opening it to see an Anbu member. "Sabaku no Natsumi."

"Uh…yeah?" she arched a brow, not really knowing what was going on.

"The Elders would like to see you. Immediately." He said sternly. Sakura's gaze narrowed threateningly. She did not like the sound of that.

"Okay?" Natsumi shrugged and walked to the couch, pulling her shoes back on. "See ya later Mom." She waved and walked out with the Konoha Anbu. He took off and she followed easily. It didn't take long for them to reach the Kage Tower, and when they did he took her then to the top of the tower and to a room she had never seen before. He opened the door and allowed her in, shutting it behind her. She glanced back at the door and then focused on the two old people in front of her. "What do you want?" she asked rudely. She wasn't one for waiting, after all.

The elder woman spoke up. "We have a few things we would like to discuss with you."

She arched her brow and crossed her arms, waiting for them to continue. "Namely Uchiha Akito." The man said.

"Okay? What about him?" she asked.

"We want you to stop seeing him." The woman told her haughtily.

"We already have a candidate picked out to be his wife, and you are just getting in the way." The man said, looking at her in disgust.

Her annoyed look vanished from her face and was quickly renewed with one of anger. "_Excuse me_?"

"His destiny has been planned since the day he was born. You are doing nothing but getting in the way, just as your father did almost twenty-seven years ago." The woman said.

Now she was confused, what the heck were they talking about? Suddenly her mind started going back. Were they talking about her father? "My father?" she asked aloud, and then it finally clicked. "You wanted to marry my mom off to Sasuke? That's stupid! He betrayed your village and he tried to kill my dad. If anyone's to blame it's him for ruining things between my mother and him. How _dare_ you." She glared, now starting to pace. She needed to keep her anger in or her sand would start to go wild. She stopped then and faced them, "Why is this a problem? If you wanted my mom and Sasuke, I _am_ her daughter. He _is_ Sasuke's son." She tried to explain. They simply were not making any sense.

"You do not possess the traits that we want to add to the Uchiha line, nor are you a member of this village. On top of that, we still remember what your father did to our village, even if the current and previous Hokage don't. We do not need any more of your kind in our village than are already here." The man told her, giving her a derisive sneer.

Suddenly she was gone and angry sand swirled around them dangerously. She was between them and set each of her delicate hands on their crusty shoulders. "Alright you dinosaurs." She spoke, acid dripping from her voice. "I'm only going to say this once. So listen…and listen good. I am the most skilled assassin in Suna…probably in all the countries too…now…if you cross me, or try and get in the way of me being with Akito…I _will_ kill you. In the most slow, inhumane, and painful way possible. I'll get away with it too…because I know how to make it look like an accident. I can even kill you without using a weapon. I can destroy you from the inside out. Which wouldn't take long, considering your age." She seethed, letting some of her chakra stab into their shoulders, giving them a taste of what it would be like. They yelled out, shrinking down and holding their shoulders. Natsumi removed her hands and the pain vanished. She walked past them and grabbed the door knob. "Now," she glanced back with an evil smile. "I hope I have made myself perfectly clear. Have a wonderful day." She slammed the door then and walked out into the hallway.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out parading your body around for all the population to see?" Taka's voice asked from the shadows. The brunette then walked forward, her arms crossed and a sneer on her face.

Natsumi stopped and looked over at the women, glaring viciously. She really did not need this right now. Especially not after having that 'talk' with the elders. "What do you want Taka? And for your information, I only parade it around cause I can _and_ have the body to do so. I enjoy letting people see I belong to Akito. Though…" she paused and laughed darkly. "I see why you wouldn't understand. You've got a nice face, but such a terrible shape. I know it's hard to accept Taka, but no one is as fortunate as me in physical appearance." She said smugly, running one of her hands through her gorgeous, short pink hair.

Taka's glare intensified and she snorted. "We'll see about that. I was just called here to discuss my wedding to Akito-_kun_." She emphasized, smirking victoriously. "Apparently the Elders think I'm better suited for him than you are, and I fully agree. Because once you go back to your desert, I will have full access to him and his yummy body."

Her sneer dropped and pure shock washed over her face. She had to stop herself from screaming. This wasn't possible. There was no way she would ever allow that disgusting _whore_ touch what was hers. And Akito _was_ hers. "You…little…BITCH!" Natsumi screamed with rage.

* * *

Akito walked into the lobby of the Hokage Tower and went straight up to the receptionist. "Shuhei wanted to see me." Akito said.

"Oh um, he's busy right now." She said.

"Too bad." He replied, walking towards the stairs. If the stupid blonde was going to call him away from his home, he would see him right now. Akito hated it when his time was wasted. He opened the door to the office and walked in, hearing a loud thump.

Taking in the blonde's appearance, Akito almost smirked to himself. Shuhei's hair was tousled, and his robes were wrinkled a bit, slightly loosened from his chest. He knew exactly what he had just interrupted.

"Akito-nii-san! What are you doing here?!" Shuhei asked nervously, trying to fix his appearance.

Akito walked up towards the desk slowly. "You wanted to see me."

The young Hokage put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously. "Haha, yeah. I just wanted to let you know that Ryo is going to be my best man. It's not that I don't love you like a brother or anything, but he is my best friend…please try not to be too upset."

"It's fine Shuhei, I'll get over it." Akito said, not really caring. He'd already been Toshiro's best man, and he did _not_ want to do it again. He had reached the desk by then, and leaned over it slowly to see what was behind it. At his action Shuhei scooted his chair forward quickly, causing a soft 'Ow' to be heard. Leaning over all the way, the young Uchiha saw a dainty foot, and smiled as his suspicions were confirmed.

Straightening, he walked back towards the door. "Next time, try locking the door. You might actually get to finish." He advised with a smirk. As he was closing the door behind him he heard,

"You idiot! That was my hand!"

"I'm sorry Yuki-chan, but we were in the middle of a covert operation here! What if we had gotten caught?!"

Akito rolled his eyes. Some people never changed. Then he walked down the hallway, halting when he felt Natsumi's chakra, which was spiraling out of control. Sensing that something bad was going to happen, he went up another flight of stairs and stopped in the hallway, seeing Natsumi and Taka facing off. "You….little…BITCH!" Natsumi screamed with rage, lunging at his Anbu teammate.

That was all he needed to hear before he was behind her in a flash. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck affectionately, kissing her cheek as he pulled away. "Hey beautiful." He murmured, giving Taka an uninterested glance.

Natsumi's psychotic gaze shifted to whoever had dared to stop her. Her eyes widened slightly, and although her body relaxed from his touch, the crazy look did not fade. "Let me go. I need to kill her." She said, sounding as if she didn't she might go insane.

"What did she say this time?" he asked in an exasperated sigh. Depending on what it was it might just be easier to get rid of Taka. She wasn't even that useful of an Anbu, and he knew from experience.

She closed her eyes and then focused back on Taka. "She said, that the Elders…that…you and her were going to get married…and she was going to put her _disgusting_ hands on your body!" she yelled the last part and tried to get at Taka once more. Akito tightened his grip on her, because if he let her go Taka would die. No doubt, Natsumi's aura screamed it.

"Natsumi, you're the only woman who's ever touched me, and it's going to stay that way. Besides, since when do I listen to what the Elders want? I do things when I want, and how I want. And when I decide to get married it won't be to some useless twig. Uchihas only have the best." He told her, referring to when she was seventeen and captured. He had called her the best then, and he meant it to this day. Nobody would ever be able to make him feel the way she did. _Ever_.

She finally stopped and looked up at him with sparkling eyes, slowly she smiling her beautiful smile. "You're right." She relaxed and accepted his embrace fully. "I'm sorry." She said, leaning against his chest and pressing her cheek against his firm muscles.

"Akito-sama! You can't be serious. This girl is completely wrong for you!" Taka yelled. "She's so arrogant and self-centered! No one in their right mind would be able to coexist with her, there's no room in her psycho little world for anyone but herself!"

"Then I guess it's a good thing I've never been in my right mind, isn't it Taka? Otherwise, loving her would be a bit more difficult." He said, smiling down at the girl in his arms.

At his declaration Taka froze, completely shocked. "L-love?" she asked, hoping that she had heard wrong.

"Yes, love. Now go away, unless you want to watch us make out, but in that case, you're even freakier than I thought." The young Uchiha said, slowly rubbing Natsumi's hips and tracing her scar. She let out a content sigh, not caring that the girl was right there to see. She got on her tip toes, and just to rub it in, let Akito meet her halfway in their kiss. She touched his cheek and slowly worked her hand into his hair, pulling his face closer to hers. Taka was wide eyed. She couldn't believe the cold, stoic, Uchiha Akito was kissing that pink little princess! She shrieked and stomped off, unable to see anymore.

He pressed her lower body against his and deepened the kiss. When he pulled away he smiled down at her, resting his forehead against her own. "You shouldn't let what the Elders say bother you. They've been trying my entire life to tell me what to do, and it hasn't worked so far." Then he began to run his hands up and down her sides. "So…you wanna go get some ice cream?" he asked, just wanting to hang out with her. I mean, they _were_ sort of in a relationship, right?

She nodded and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "I would love that. Let's go," she released him and took his hand, leading him down the hall. "As long as you promise to catch me if I fall from the sky," she giggled, looking back at him, thinking back on when they were younger and she hadn't quiet controlled her sand transport.

"Ch. I always catch you." He said. They reached the vendor soon, whom smiled when Akito walked up.

"Good day Akito-sama. Would you like the usual?" he asked, already beginning to prepare a cone.

"Yes." He replied, reaching for his prepared strawberry ice cream. It was the only flavor he ever got. The vendor turned to Natsumi, his smile widening.

"Ah, I remember you. What would you like miss?" he asked her.

She smiled back, seeming to brighten the already gorgeous day. "Vanilla please." She laced her fingers together and then looked back at Akito. She stared at his ice cream and then took hers, thanking the man. They started to walk off and she took a bite of hers. "So why do you get strawberry ice cream?" she asked, since she didn't take him for a fruit lover.

Akito paused in his ice cream eating, and for the first time in a long time blushed slightly. For, truth be told, he was embarrassed. "Well…because…it's the same color as your hair…" he trailed off, looking at the ground.

She looked at him, bewilderment filling her face. "Wh-what?" she felt her own cheeks heating up.

"Well I never ate sweets when I was little, and then after we met I would just pick the strawberry flavored ones, because they reminded me of your hair." He said softly. She would think he was a total loser now. She pushed his hand out of the way and leaned up, kissing him passionately. She placed her hand on the back of his neck and forced him further down, breaking away only to take a quick breath.

"I love you," she whispered, pressing her forehead against his and kissing him once more. When she broke away from him his mouth tilted slightly at the corner.

"I love you too." He whispered back. Then he smiled and brought his hand up, smashing his strawberry ice cream onto her cheek and nose. When he pulled his hand away he laughed at the look on her face. "Oops." He chuckled. Then he gently held her chin in his hand and tilted her face so that he could lick the sweet dessert off of her soft skin. "I'm sorry, I hope you'll forgive me." He murmured between licks.

She shivered, both from the ice cream and his actions. "Akito," she gasped when his tongue licked up her throat, catching a stray stream of ice cream. She dropped her ice cream and gripped onto his shirt, pulling him closer. "I forgive you…but bad boys need to be punished." She smirked, letting her hands slide down his stomach. She had to suppress a light sigh that came from the feel of his washboard abs. Her fingers reached the hem of his pants and boldly she delved a bit further, letting her fingers rub against his pelvis.

He tossed his ice cream aside and gripped her butt firmly, bringing her pelvis against his and trapping her hands between their bodies. He began to trail kisses up her neck, and once he reached her ear he nipped it lightly. "And how are you going to punish me? Will it hurt?" he asked huskily, squeezing her bottom.

She giggled loudly, sliding her hands further down into his pants. She could feel the incline and her heart began to race. She would finally get to touch the only part of Akito that was sensitive. "It's not so much painful…as it is me torturing you." She purred, arching into him.

"Akito-sama? What are you doing?" a small voice asked. They both froze and looked over slowly to see a few kids staring wide eyed at them. It was a couple boys that looked like they were from the academy. Natsumi pulled her hands out quickly and held them up, her face as red as a cherry.

The young Uchiha swiftly moved his hands to her hips, not willing to let her move until he had full control over his body once again. Then he cleared his throat. "Well boys, I was just catching Natsumi here from her fall. She's a terrible klutz." He explained, hoping that it looked realistic in their position. He really didn't want the boys' parents to complain to him or his father about his actions. Especially his father.

"Oh," they blinked. "How come her hands were in your pants then?" one of them asked.

"_Because_," Natsumi began, laughing awkwardly and trying to think of a lie. "When I, uh, fell I tried to brace myself for impact. And when I collided with Akito they kinda just…slipped."

"Oh." They said again and then looked at Akito with wide smirks. "Haha, Akito-sama how come pretty girls are always falling around you?" a brunette asked.

"It's falling _for_ him. Idiot."

The blonde boy punched his friend. "Moron that's Natsumi-chan, she's Akito-sama's lady friend from Suna. And look she's pretty, pretty girls are always klutz's, they can't help it." He explained, getting nods from his friends. She tried really hard not to say anything, since she'd rather them believe the lie then know she was trying to get her hands on what made him a man.

Akito, having finally gotten control of himself, smirked at the boys' antics. He shifted so that his arm was around her waist as he faced the group fully. "Well boys, when you grow up and become dashing young men like me who have awesome kunai throwing skills, they just flock to you. The squirt here has been following me since we were kids." He told them, inclining his head in her direction and letting his ego show. He just loved how the kids worshipped the very ground he walked on, and relished in the attention they gave him sometimes.

"Excuse me?" Natsumi glared up at him. He obviously wasn't remembering things correctly. "If I recall you walked in, made fun of my hair, and made me cry. Then you felt so bad about it you came out and did everything you could to make me feel better." She smirked, looking away from him. She would not look like some crazy fan girl stalker…_ever_.

He smiled. "Yeah, and ever since then you've been in love with me." At her glare he kissed her on the cheek and looked over at the boys. "Here's some good advice kids. When you find a woman that will tolerate all the stupid things you do, keep her. Especially if she's as beautiful and as talented as Natsumi."

The boys nodded and smiled, happy to see that their elder was finally happy. "Yes Akito-sama." They said in unison.

Natsumi laughed and pushed his face away from hers, sticking her tongue out at him. "Here's some more advice. A woman is never wrong. _Ever_." She said raising a finger for emphasis. "Isn't that right? _Baby_?" she looked back at Akito, placing her finger under his chin and tracing his jaw line.

"Ch. Whatever you say." He told her. Then he turned his head to the side and mouthed 'No' to the boys, causing them to laugh.

She huffed and crossed her arms then. "Fine. I guess I'll just go back to my suite tonight."

"Fine, then I guess you won't get any sleep tonight." Then he leaned closer and whispered, "And that way, I can sleep naked, since I won't have to worry about scarring your virgin eyes." He said huskily, pulling away after that. Then he turned to the boys. "I'll see you kids later." He told them, walking away from the group and the pink haired woman next to them.

"Bye Akito-sama!" they yelled with a wave.

Her eye twitched. "Fine then," she turned her back to the retreating Uchiha and faced the boys. "Sleeping alone is what you will end up with if you don't give your woman what she wants." And with that she passed them and headed for the hotel. She would just have to see him at the wedding tomorrow. She stopped and gasped. Her sister was getting married tomorrow. She took off then, wanting to go shopping. She needed a dress for the event, and it needed to be amazing. Because Akito needed to see just what he wasn't going to get that night.


	12. Seduction

**Tempest**

_Chapter Twelve_

-Seduction-

Natsumi leaned against the open bar, holding a crystal champagne glass. She brought the glass to her lips and took another sip. She hadn't seen Akito at all during the wedding, but everyone in Konoha had attended, so it wasn't like it was an easy task to find him. She sighed. If she didn't see him then getting all dressed up would have been pointless. Sure she had been getting looks from nearly every man with a pulse, but none of them mattered. She brushed her hand down her dress, making sure it still looked perfect. It was dark crimson and floor length. But of course, true to her nature, there was a huge slit up the left side going almost all the way up to her hip. Her heels matched perfectly, only making her legs look more amazing than they already did. The top was a triangle cut, dipping dangerously low between her breasts, and the thin, string like straps went over her shoulders and held up the back, which revealed the upper half of her back and shoulders.

She watched Yuki dance with Shuhei, who actually looked really handsome. They looked so happy together. The elder Sabaku found herself smiling at the two. Shuhei was so perfect for Yuki, and her sister looked absolutely breathtaking in her gown. She pressed her glass to her lips once more and downed the rest of her champagne.

"You shouldn't drink so much, you might get drunk." A familiar, dark voice said in her ear. She turned around to be met with the smirking face of Akito. He was wearing a standard black tux with a crimson tie, which had been loosened a bit at the neck.

"You'd like that wouldn't you." She stated simply, turning her gaze back to the dance floor. She wouldn't let on how striking she thought he looked in a tuxedo.

He smirked at her response. Did she really think so little of him? She should know better by now. "No. I want you to remember the things I'm going to do to you tonight, not forget them because you're so hung over." He said, turning his gaze to the newlyweds.

She smirked and handed her glass to a passing waiter. "And what makes you think you will be getting anything tonight?" she faced him then and arched her brow, setting her hand on her hip.

He chuckled. "Trust you to jump straight to sex. I meant dancing, unless you think you can't keep up with me." He said, smirking down at her.

"Oh," she laughed. "The last time we danced was depressing. If you don't recall. Are you ready to redeem yourself?"

"I'm more than ready. I've had five years to wait for this chance." He told her, leading her out onto the floor.

She smiled, and when he stopped and pulled her against him, she fell right into place. Their bodies fit together perfectly. Just like puzzle pieces. He grasped her hand gently and placed his other on her waist, beginning the steps of the waltz, just like before. Only this time, he brought her even closer to his body, since he knew she wouldn't mind in the least.

She did her best not to be impressed with his movements. He'd gotten even better since the last time they had danced. "So," she breathed out, keeping her hips against his and following his every lead. "You've told me you loved me at least a hundred times. But you haven't told me why. So the question is..." She locked eyes with him then. "Why?"

"Why not?" he asked, smiling slightly. Then his face became serious and his brow creased slightly. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that I love it when you're near, and I feel like part of me is missing when you're gone. I'm happiest when I get to hold you, and I like waking up with you in my arms. You're incredibly cute when you're sleepy." He said, the corner of his mouth lifting a bit. "Your stubbornness and persistence is aggravating sometimes, but you wouldn't be the same person if you weren't, and I always liked that you went after what you wanted." He twirled her a bit. "Does that answer your question?"

She was dumbstruck at first. That was more in depth than she thought it would be. But she could feel her heart practically singing with joy. "Yes," she smiled happily, and then kissed him delicately.

Gaara, who happened to be standing a bit off from the two, simply smirked when he saw the kiss. "About freaking time," he said with a small smile, looking down at his beautiful wife. "Don't you think?"

Sakura just crossed her arms. "Hmph. I still don't like him." she pouted.

He laughed and gave her a skeptical look, "Why? Jealous?" his smirk only grew.

"Because," she said by way of explanation. "I just don't."

He shook his head and leaned over, kissing her forehead. "My love, you still fill my life with so much joy and amusement."

Yuki glanced over at her sister and Akito, then gave Shuhei a suggestive glance. "You want to see something funny?" she asked, pulling away from him then and making her way to the band. She whispered something to the conductor and he nodded.

As soon as the waltz ended, a faster beat began to ring throughout the room. Natsumi felt herself press harder against Akito. Her hand smoothed down from his shoulder and she gripped his upper arm. His grip on her hand firmed and he moved his hips sensually against hers. "I have a question for you." he said.

"What?" she asked, looking at him in slight confusion.

"Can you salsa?" he asked, giving her a devilish smile.

She blinked and then let a devious smile form on her lips. "Of course. But as always…can you keep up?" she snickered, letting one of her legs slid between his. She was an excellent dancer, especially considering who her parents were. Despite her taunt, she allowed him to lead, following his footsteps intricately close.

Shuhei blinked as he watched them. Then he looked at Yuki, confused. "I don't get it Yuki-chan. How is this funny?"

She rolled her eyes and hit her new husband in the arm. "Just shut up you idiot, wait. You'll see what's funny." But her eyes moved to her father, whose amused look from earlier was long gone. Oh yeah, this was going to be hilarious.

Akito twirled Natsumi away from him and brought her back quickly, pressing her even closer to his body. Then he ground his hips against hers. Leaning towards her ear he whispered, "You're not too bad squirt. I'm surprised."

"Are you?" she smirked, hiking her leg up on his and leaning onto him. Her dress fell, exposing her full leg due to the massive slit. "I thought you knew how quick and flexible I was."

He brought his hand to her thigh, moving it dangerously higher towards her hips and rubbing her smooth skin lightly. "True, but I like to see the other ways you can use your flexibility." he said, grinding into her once more.

Sakura smirked and looked up at her husband. "So...still think I have no reason to hate him?" she asked, raising a brow.

Gaara's eye twitched and his hand clenched into fists. "No." he seethed out. Then Akito's hand slid further down and took a hold of his daughter's butt. He shut his eyes and began to regulate his breathing.

Natsumi bit down on her lower lip. His hand on her flesh always made her heart race. She pulled away from him then, spinning out, their hands now their only connection. He brought her back and she twirled, easing into his hold with her back against his chest. She joined her free hand with his, crossing her arms and then moving with him.

He pressed into her back, and then slowly moved his left hand down her stomach. When he reached her pelvis he moved his hand to her hip and slid it underneath the fabric of her dress. He brought his mouth next to her ear and nipped it lightly. "Have I told you how sexy you look tonight?" he asked huskily.

Her breath hitched and she lifted her hand slowly, reaching back and running her hands through his hair. She smiled and forced his head down to meet her lips. "No, you haven't. But I'm glad you noticed." She whispered against his lips, giving him another quick peck.

Gaara, finally having calmed down, opened his eyes and nearly died right then and there from shock. He held his hand over his poor overworking heart that was slowly breaking. "What is he _doing_ to my little princess!" he demanded, now growing angry.

Sakura chuckled. "I think the real question is what is your little princess doing to him? I told you all those years ago you needed to watch her, since she's like me. But noooooooo, you refused to listen." she mocked. "And besides, you and I do practically the same thing when we dance, so she's only following our example." Sakura continued. She wasn't as pleased as she seemed with what the young Uchiha was doing with her daughter, but she felt that it was about time Gaara realized that Akito needed to be reprimanded for his behavior, not encouraged.

Satomi walked up beside her mother, a disgusted look plastered on her face. "What the _hell_ is he doing?" she seethed, her glare icy. She actually had her long pink hair down and was wearing a black strapless, floor length dress. It fit her top perfect, cutting straight across and then flowed freely from her hips down.

"Sakura, we do _not_ dance like that. We are conservative. I would never touch you so inappropriately in the middle of a crowd." He scolded, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. Both Satomi and Sakura looked over at him, rolling their eyes in unison. Like mother, like daughter.

Naruto came up to his friends then. Smiling slyly, he nudged the elder redhead. "Hey Gaara, look. Akito and Natsumi are dancing just like you and Sakura-chan do. Now you know what everybody else sees!" he exclaimed, laughing at the irony of the situation.

The redhead flashed his friend a glare. "What are you talking about? We are not like that!" He huffed, gesturing out towards the Uchiha and his daughter. He went wide eyed, seeing their new action. Natsumi was actually grinding down on Akito. Gaara's jaw dropped and his heart stopped.

"You're right. They're much worse." Naruto agreed, nodding.

Shuhei looked at Yuki, wide eyed. "Your dad's not gonna cause a scene is he? You know, by killing Akito-nii-san." he asked, worried for the Uchiha's life.

The young redhead laughed "I'm pretty surprised he hasn't done anything yet. But it's all a matter of time." She smirked.

Natsumi looked back at Akito, the look of need in her eyes told him they needed to go. Now. "Take me home." she ordered, turning her body to face his. She pressed her front against his, begging for his compliance.

"As you wish." he said, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the exit. When they walked by the newlyweds Akito nodded. "Have fun tonight." he told them, smirking slightly.

Shuhei pumped his fist up in the air. "You know we will!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Yuki's waist and pulling her to his side.

Natsumi waved to her sister, but dragged Akito out quickly. Once they were alone she grabbed his jacket and kissed him deeply. She couldn't believe how much she wanted him right now. Keeping her hold on him, her sand picked up and whisked them away. When Akito opened his eyes after the odd scratching feeling, he saw that they were in his room.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, tilting her head back in order to deepen it. "I missed you last night." he murmured, kissing down her neck.

"Good." She breathed out, closing her eyes and enjoying his caressing kisses. "I missed you too…I didn't get to sleep." She admitted softly, trying to look down at him.

He continued trailing kisses down her neck and across her shoulder blade, and then he changed direction and began to trace the top of her dress with his mouth. "Well you'll get to tonight, because I'm not gonna let you leave now." He said against her skin.

"Oh really?" she arched her brow, lifting one of her hands and grabbing his hair roughly. She didn't want him to stop. "And who's going to stop me? You?" she smirked tauntingly down at him.

He bit the swell of her breast harshly and then smoothed it over with his tongue. Once that was done he stood and looked down at her. "I could, but then it would be considered assault. Although…tomorrow is my birthday, so you have to do whatever I want." He said with a smirk. He wouldn't really make her do anything she didn't want to, but it was still fun making her think so.

She blushed and huffed, avoiding his gaze. She suddenly regretted wearing this dress that gave him quite a view of her chest. Then she blinked and looked up at him. "Tomorrow is your birthday?" she thought of the date in her head, and realized that it was. She started to think then, pressing her lips together. "I know just what to get you." she smiled excitedly. She took his wrist and pulled up his sleeve, seeing the bracelet she had made him. She couldn't help but giggle. It made her so happy that he wore it, even now. "I'll get you a new charm for your bracelet. And then we can go on a date. And I'll dress all pretty for you." She said, seeming oblivious to his hint.

He sighed. "A charm seems kind of girly…" he trailed off. That really wasn't what he'd had in mind for her to give him, if she gave him anything at all. "But I suppose we could go to dinner. I have to attend the Hyuuga Clan meeting tomorrow in place of my father, since he's on a mission, but I should be done by six."

_Perfect_, she thought deviously. She had to keep the victorious smirk from crawling up her face. "Well we can meet here at seven and then we'll go out." she smiled, effectively covering up her plan.

"Alright. Wear something a bit more conservative though. I don't want any other guys to see what's mine." He said possessively, kissing her cheek. Then he stepped away from her and took off his tie, throwing it off to the side. Once that was removed he began to unbutton his shirt. He hated dressing up. If he could, he would just walk around naked all the time, but knew that not everyone would appreciate it.

Natsumi rolled her eyes, going to his dresser and pulling out one of his black shirts. "When do I ever dress conservatively?" she asked, giving him a look. She disappeared into the bathroom and came out in nothing but his shirt and her lacy red underwear. But the shirt just barely covered her panties, so she wasn't too embarrassed.

He had already pulled his pants off by then and crawled onto bed. Once she was in beside him he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his body. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and sighed. "Goodnight." He murmured into her hair.

"Night." She whispered. In the dark, she let a grin spread across her face. She was so excited for tomorrow.


	13. Present

**Tempest**

_Chapter Thirteen_

-Present-

Natsumi walked towards the Uchiha Prefecture, holding a gift bag filled with tissue paper. Shockingly enough, she had followed Akito's orders and dressed conservatively. It was a simple white halter top dress, tying behind her neck in a cute bow. It was short in the front, but stopped right above her knees and was long in the back, just down to her ankles. She even bought new high heels to match the dress, since she wanted to look extra beautiful for him tonight.

When she got to his house she let herself in and headed towards his room. She popped her head in just in time to see him straightening his black button up shirt. "Happy birthday!" she smiled, walking in and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks." He said, smiling at her. Then he looked down at the bag in her hand. "Is that for me?" he asked, moving to take it from her.

She nodded and laughed, pulling it out of his grasp before he could take it. "But you can't open it until we get back. Okay? Promise me, or I'll be really upset!" she gave him a threatening look, making sure she kept the present out of his grasp.

He sighed, deciding to humor her. "Alright. I guess I can wait a little longer. Are you ready to go?" he asked, running his hand through his hair to make sure it looked neatly messed up.

"Yup," she said, going over to his dresser and setting the present down. When she turned back to face him she gestured to her dress. "Well is this conservative enough for you?" she asked with a small laugh as she twirled around.

He gazed at her appreciatively. "Yes, and you still look sexy." He told her, the smile staying on his face. Then he grabbed her hand and walked with her towards the front door. "So where are you taking me to dinner?"

"Well I found this really nice place. I'm sure you'll love it." She looked back at him and dragged him out the door. She looped her arm with his and leaned into his side. "How was the meeting?"

"Boring as hell." He said.

She sighed, knowing that that was probably as much as she would hear about it. It didn't take too long to get to the restaurant, which was probably one of the most prestigious in all of Konoha. They walked up to the host, who looked up and smiled charmingly. "Welcome, hello Uchiha-san." He gave a small nod and then laid eyes on Natsumi. "And the ever beautiful Natsumi-sama. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," he stepped away from the podium, grabbed two menus, and took her hand. He kissed it and then led them off to their table.

Akito's eyes narrowed. He did _not_ just touch what was his. When the host went to pull her chair out for her, Akito stepped in the way and did it himself, glaring at the man. He flashed his sharingan quickly, causing the man to take a step back in alarm.

Oblivious as to what was happening, Natsumi sat down and looked up at her Uchiha. The host quickly placed their menus down and hurried away without another glance at her. Akito sat down across from her. She picked up her menu and scanned over the contents. What to get, what to get. "So…" she tapped her fingers on the menu and looked up at him. "How's your day been?"

"Long. Hinata and Naruto were at the meeting and they got me some kunai that are made with a special blend of metals, supposedly they cut into solid objects faster and are more efficient. And Shuhei sent me a gift certificate to Ichiraku that's valid for an entire year. So basically I got an awesome present and a stupid one. Other than that my day was full of political talk." Akito told her, scanning his menu. It didn't take him long to find what he wanted, so he set it down and sat back in his chair.

She nodded, a huge smile creeping up her face. She finally set her menu down and looked at him. "Well you'll be really ha-"

"Oh my! Akito-sama! Out to celebrate your birthday?" their waitress walked up, interrupting her. Her outfit was tight, the top unbuttoned enough so they had a clear view of her massive cleavage. "I'll make sure we get you a yummy dessert." She winked, pushing out her chest a bit. "What can I get you tonight?" she asked, pulling out her pen and paper.

"Steak, medium well, with mashed potatoes and gravy, and some broccoli. I would also like a glass of ice water." He said, glancing at her and then back at Natsumi.

The pink haired woman was pissed, and there was a murderous look on her face. She was even holding her knife tightly in her hand. The waitress grudgingly turned to Natsumi. "What do you want?" she asked unpleasantly. Oh God, this woman was going to die. She was going to give her hell.

"I would like to make my own pasta. I want bow-tie pasta, exactly sixty-five pieces. I _will_ count by the way. I would like lots of cheese, at least four different kinds, and yes I will be able to tell. Throw in some chicken, all needing to be relatively the same size, either ten to twelve pieces. Then I will require three ounces of fresh tomato spaghetti sauce." She shoved the menu into the waitress' hands and gave her a small glare. "If my requirements are not met you will face not only my wrath but I will make sure that you won't be able to un-satisfy anyone else with your mediocre skills." She took a deep breath and then unrolled her napkin. "And also a Cesar salad with lots of parmesan cheese, exactly half a head of lettuce. And eighteen to twenty croutons, but not too much dressing. I swear to God if my salad is soggy you will suffer the consequences."

The waitress stared wide eyed at her, so appalled that she dropped her pencil from shock. Natsumi smirked and leaned back in her chair. "Oh…probably not the best idea, I would have taken notes." She shrugged then and smiled, "Hopefully you'll remember…because I know what I want." She said darkly.

The waitress picked up her pencil and hastily wrote everything down, scurrying off to the kitchen. Akito raised a brow at her. "I thought Toshiro was the food freak, not you." He said, sitting up in his chair.

"I'm not." She replied, finally returning her gaze from the retreating waitress. "She just pissed me off is all. I know exactly how I like it, but that doesn't mean I can't eat it different ways."

He smirked at her and moved his leg to rub her gently. "If you don't like the waitress we can leave. I'm about to go kill the host anyways." He said, glancing back at the front of the restaurant and catching the other man turning away quickly, caught in the act of staring at Natsumi. Again.

"It'll be alright." She said with a smile. Surprisingly after her display their food was rushed out and had met all her expectations. They ate in silence, aside from the occasional chit chat. Akito just seemed to be getting in a worse mood as the night went on. He was glaring past her and when she followed his gaze, she saw the host. She wondered what was up between the two. "Well don't worry, I put a lot of thought into your gift." She said, setting her fork down when she was finished.

"I'm sure I'll love it either way." He said, getting up from his chair. He walked over to her side of the table and held his hand down to her. She took it and got up, letting him lead her out of the restaurant.

"So what's the deal with the host? What did he do?" she stared up at him, oh so innocently.

"He touched you inappropriately." He said, walking in the direction of his house.

She went wide eyed, but she was confused. "He did?"

"Yes. He grabbed your hand and kissed it. That is too personal for a restaurant setting. On top of that, he was gazing at you lustfully. So I put him in a genjutsu at least halfway through the meal. I sure taught that sucker a lesson." Akito said, smirking in triumph to himself.

Natsumi hit herself in the forehead and let out a deep sigh. "You are _so_ territorial Akito, jeez."

"So I guess the way that waitress was throwing herself at me didn't bother you at all?" he asked, glancing down at her.

She immediately tensed, but she didn't want to fight with him. Especially not when she had the perfect evening planned. "What's that?" she scrunched her brow, as they came up to his house, where a pile of beautifully wrapped boxes sat on the lawn.

He sighed. "It's just the same pile of gifts I get every year for my birthday and Christmas. My fan girls drop it off whenever they find out I'm not home, because they know if they get caught something terrible will befall them. Usually after I make sure there's nothing alive in there I burn it. You wouldn't believe some of the weird things they send me."

"Hm…creepy." She looked at the pile and pulled him inside quickly. She would not have any more delays. It wasn't like he wanted them anyways, so who would care if they were stolen? "Okay! Now for the best present of all!" she giggled, taking him to his room and sitting him down on the edge of his bed. "Now sit there. I have to put it together before I give it to you." She grabbed the bag and ran into the bathroom before he could even get in a word.

He raised a confused brow and stared at the door. What kind of present could it be that she had to go into the bathroom and shut the door? He sighed and made himself comfortable, since he didn't know how long she was going to take.

Natsumi took a deep breath and ripped the tissue paper out of the bag. She pulled out a whole bunch of thick red ribbon and set it on the counter. She was nervous. This was going to be it. She felt the blush rising on her cheeks. No, she had to stay cool. Slowly, she pulled on the string to her dress and slipped it off. She pulled off her shoes and set them aside. She grabbed a black marker she had bought and slowly traced her scar. Then she took a red marker and colored in the red portion of the Uchiha crest. She stared in the mirror, reaching behind her back and unclipping her bra. She dropped it onto her dress and then looped her thumbs on the edges of her panties. She took them off and then grabbed the ribbon. She wrapped the largest part around her waist and tied it in a beautiful bow. It draped over her hips just enough to hide her most private areas. _Perfect_.

Then she took the other large piece and tied it around her breasts, doing the same and making sure the bow was just right. She looked back in the mirror and took in a sharp breath. What if he didn't like it? She shook her head, ridding herself of all her doubt. She brushed her fingers through her hair, giving it a shake so it had a little more volume. She took the last piece of ribbon and wrapped it around her wrists, and tied it with her mouth.

She took in her appearance once more and nodded. She needed to do this now if she were ever going to get it out. She walked over to the door and cracked it, looking to see him with a bored expression on his face. "Are you ready? Close your eyes. And you better not peek or you won't get it!"

He sighed and closed his eyes, covering them with his hands as well. "I'm ready." The things he did to humor her.

Satisfied with his actions, she stepped out of the bathroom, instantly feeling her stomach tighten. She closed the door and stopped when she was in front of him. "Okay…" she breathed out. "You can look and unwrap your present now." She said sweetly.

He uncovered his eyes and opened them. He took in her appearance slowly, feeling his body respond to her 'outfit'. His eyes went straight to the scar and he felt himself fall in love with her all over again. She was breathtaking. He knew he needed to say something…anything in that moment. "Well…that's definitely not a charm for my bracelet." Once the words were out of his mouth he cursed himself. He hoped he hadn't ruined the moment or anything, because that would really suck.

She laughed sweetly, bringing her hands up to her lips, almost like she was hiding behind them. His silly comment had at least allowed her to relax a little. "Well you'll never find out if you don't open it." She smiled, watching him get up and approach her. She felt her blush come back, but she didn't bother to try and hide it. This was a situation she was allowed to be embarrassed in. He reached his hand up and cupped her face delicately, and she responded automatically by leaning her cheek into his hand.

"Are you sure? Because, I don't know if I'll be able to stop..." he asked, his eyes searching hers. He didn't really like how weak she made him, but he supposed he would just have to get used to it if they were going to be together. Finally.

She lifted her arms up and placed her tied hands behind his neck, pulling him down to her. "Akito…what in the world makes you think I want you to stop? I'm naked and wrapped in ribbon…and you're just standing here talking to me." She laughed. "If you don't have sex with me I'm going to be very upset." She smiled sweetly. "I want to. I'm yours and you're mine. Now make me happy to be your woman."

Those words were all he needed to hear to be convinced that she wouldn't ask him to stop. He kissed her tenderly then, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her against his body. He deepened the kiss, causing it to become more passionate.

When they broke for air he brought a hand up and undid the ribbon covering her chest, swatting it out of the way and pressing her against his once more. He kissed her again, wanting to wait to see her body until she was fully naked. He brought his left hand down and began to trace her scar.

She let out a soft moan. It was so much different kissing him when she had nothing on. "Akito," she gasped out in want. She cursed herself for tying her hands now. She wanted to rip his shirt off and feel his hard muscles against her soft flesh. "Stop teasing me." She whined.

He smirked and slowly ran his hand up her side. Then he cupped her right breast and squeezed it, marveling at the feel. She was soft. This definitely felt better than he thought it would. "I would...but it's my birthday, and I like to unwrap my presents slowly." he told her, moving his hand against her chest at a leisurely pace.

"Please," she begged, arching into his touch. "We've had ten years of foreplay. I can't take much more." She breathed out. She hated how weak she sounded, pleading for his touch. But she wanted it, she needed it. She brought his head down forcefully and kissed him deeply, trying to show him just how bad her body needed him.

"Hn. We'll see just how much more you can take." he said, kissing down her chest. He got on his knees then as his mouth made its way down her stomach, until it reached the ribbon wrapped around her waist. He tugged at it, allowing it to fall to the ground. Once it hit the floor he looked up at her, not hiding the lust in his gaze. She had the most beautiful body he had ever seen. He rested his chin on her lower stomach. "Tell me Natsumi, have you reached the end of your rope?" he asked, smirking devilishly. He just wanted to hear her beg some more before he untied her hands and let her touch him in return.

She stared down at him, her face so dark all the blood in her body must have been there. His taunt only provoked her though. She was supposed to be the alpha, and he was supposed to beg her for her body. She let her hands run through his hair and then forced his face onto her. "I can outlast you any day Akito-_sama_." She purred, getting her confidence back. His eyes told her she was gorgeous and she had nothing to be embarrassed about. She was a goddess, a work of perfection, and she would win this battle.

"We'll see _Princess_." He resumed kissing her soft skin, nipping and licking along his way back up. When he reached her chest he went off to the left and gave her breast the attention it deserved, wanting to hear the noises she would make.

She bit down on her lip, not wanting to give him what he wanted. And she knew what he wanted. Suddenly her knees buckled and she nearly collapsed to the floor, if it weren't for his strong arms that were holding her up. She had never been touched this way and it was almost too much for her will. She looked down at him, blushing again. Why was she so weak when he did this to her?

He locked gazes with her and smirked against her chest, moving over to the opposite breast. His hands moved from her back to her butt, and pressed her against him so she could feel just what it was she was doing to his body. But he wouldn't untie her wrists until she moaned for him and begged for him to untie her. That was his unspoken rule, and he was going to stick to it no matter what. He only hoped she caved soon, because he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

She trembled, falling against him. She couldn't take much more of this standing. For the first time she sucked in her pride and leaned back, giving him a pitiful look. "Please Akito-sama." She begged, moving forward, pressing her forehead against his, now that she had his attention. "I can't take it…please," she leaned closer brushing her lips against his. "Please make me yours for good."

He pulled away from her and stood fully. Then he brought her bound hands between them. And in one swift motion, her hands were freed. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him desperately. As she continued to kiss him, her hands slid down and began to unbutton his shirt, until finally she tore it off and threw it to the side. When they broke she gasped slightly, "Ok, let's go to the bed."

He picked her up and carried her bridal style, laying her down gently on his bed. Then he took off his pants and boxers, leaving him naked as the day he was born. Once that was taken care of he crawled over her. He pressed her into the bed with his body and kissed her passionately, sliding his fingers into her hair. When they parted for air, he pulled away slightly, panting. "You're so beautiful." He murmured, stroking her cheek tenderly.

She smiled up at him. He made her so happy. This was going to be the moment in her life she would always remember. "I'm only beautiful because you make me so happy, and you brought my smile back." She told him truthfully, placing her hands on his chest and enjoying the rock hard feel. After tonight they would be forever hers. Her scent would be on him, he would have every part of her and her him. "I love you so much Akito."

He took her hands in his and placed them on each side of her head, lacing their fingers together. "I love you too Natsumi." He said, positioning himself at her entrance. He gave her a questioning look, and when she nodded he pushed forward slowly, not wanting to hurt her. Once he was fully inside he stopped and laid his head on her shoulder with a groan. He would wait until she indicated that she was no longer in pain before moving. This night had to be perfect for her after all, since he knew how important those things were to her.

Her grip on his hands was tight, and she pressed her lips together to stop herself from making a pained noise. She knew it would only make him worry, but she couldn't keep the tears from forming in the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath. She hadn't expected it to hurt _that_ bad. But then again, she had been a virgin for almost twenty-five years.

Sensing her discomfort at having him inside her, he began to kiss her neck, moving towards her lips. When he reached them he kissed her softly, hoping that his small actions were enough to soothe her. He was trying not to move in order to keep from hurting her more, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He looked down at her pained expression, one of worry forming on his face. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He knew it was supposed to hurt for the girl when it was her first time, but he still didn't like the fact that he was causing her pain.

"Its fine," she told him, giving him a small smile. She did mean it, it would be ok. She knew how the human body worked. "I want you to make me feel good." She whispered then, stroking his fingers with her own. "Don't stop until you're completely satisfied with my body. Please ignore my expression, I promise once you start going I will be alright." She said, moving her feet a bit and placing them on the bed, forcing her hips up on his. It still hurt, but she could feel herself adjusting to him being inside her.

He nodded, deciding to trust her. He began to rock his hips against hers, beginning at a slow pace. He wouldn't go any faster unless she indicated that she wanted it so. But she felt so good. For once, he knew without a doubt that this was where he belonged. With her. Hopefully forever.

She bit down on her lip to make sure she did nothing to make him stop. The friction burned slightly, but as uncomfortable as it was, it slowly began to fade. Her back arched, forcing him deep inside. She let out a long moan, her eyes already glazed over. It felt amazing. She noticed he had stopped and glared up at him. "I told you not to stop. It feels good," she breathed out, holding his hands tightly. She wanted to make him feel good too, so she started to move her hips against his, beginning to meet him halfway.

He resumed his thrusts, speeding up just a bit. He grunted at the feel of her hips moving with his. When she moaned again, he sped up even more, taking it as a good sign. He didn't think he would be able to last much longer, but it was okay. They had all night to repeat their activities. The thought made the corner of his mouth tilt slightly. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling her hands from his and wrapping them tightly around his neck. She wanted to be close to him when she came. And boy could she feel it coming. Why had she waited so long to do this with him?! It was amazing, the most wonderful feeling she had experienced. Other than loving him.

Somehow he managed to go even faster, desperately trying to cause her to reach her peak, and he his. Why had he waited so long to do this with her?! All those nights they shared a bed, even a tent, and he hadn't made a single move, for whatever reason. But then again, he supposed it was the Uchiha curse to be stupid in _some_ sort of way. He brought his head down next to her ear and nipped it lightly. "Natsumi, come for me." He ordered huskily, thrusting even harder into her for emphasis.

She screamed out with a smile on her face, nodding. She had never let anyone control her before, but this was simply exhilarating. He was the key to her lock and he could make her do whatever he wanted in this state. When he slammed in again, she let out another pleasured cry, arching her back as he felt her pure ecstasy. He joined her with a groan shortly after, sliding in and out with small thrusts until he was done.

Breathing heavily now, he collapsed on top of her, blissfully exhausted. He reluctantly pulled out of her and rolled to the side, bringing her flush against his body in the process. He kissed her neck then, and smiled in smug satisfaction. "Wow." Was all he could say, nuzzling her affectionately.

She was panting, a slight sweat glazing her forehead. "That…was amazing…" she breathed out, moving to make herself comfortable. She rested her head on his chest and let out a content sigh. She looked tired, but she had a beautiful smile on her face and seemed to be glowing with happiness.

He wrapped his arms around her and smiled. "Yeah. No wonder your parents make waffles all the time." He joked, looking down at her.

"No kidding," she snuggled into his embrace. This was perfect, being held after making love. It was more than anything she could have asked for. "I can't believe I was embarrassed about it. It makes so much sense though."

With a burst of energy, she was on top of him, straddling his naked waist. "So…you ready for round two?" she arched a brow. She did have an amazing amount of stamina. She traced his abs with her finger, stopping only when she came to where their bodies were joined

He smirked up at her, more than ready, as was clearly felt by Natsumi. "Of course. I'll even let you be on top this time." He said, running his hands up her thighs.

"How kind of you," she smirked, moving her hands off him and setting them on either side of his head. She moved down and positioned herself over him and slid down with an excited squeal. "Ah!" she giggled, already having missed the feel of him inside her. She sat up then and using only her legs, pulled herself off him, and then slammed back down. She definitely liked this position. His expressions were just adorable. She twisted her hips slightly, erecting a loud moan from her lover. "Oh my," she snickered, walking up his chest with her fingers. "Have I found Uchiha Akito's only weakness?"

He grunted in response, trying to gain better control of himself. "No. You are my weakness Natsumi, this just adds to it." He said, completely enjoying their contact.

Her eyes widened slightly. She ran her hands up his chest once more, leaning down and kissing him sweetly. "I am?" she cupped his face tenderly and nuzzled him lovingly. "What would you do if I died?" she asked seriously, looking into his eyes for his reaction.

A tortured expression came upon his face. "I…don't know…" he said softly. He had never really considered it. But then he thought about when she fell from the cliff and he had thought he'd lost her. His hands clenched into fists on her thighs.

She smiled at him, "I promise you, I will not die unless you die with me." She kissed him again and then bit down on his neck, trailing kisses slowly down his throat. "I love you Akito," she whispered again. She placed her hands on either side of his head and lifted her hips slowly, seeing a pleasured look come to his face. She started a slow pace, wanting to torture him a bit as he had her.

He thrust his hips up to meet her, trying to quicken the pace. When she wouldn't allow him to, he growled slightly. "Natsumi, quit messing around." He said in an almost whine.

"I'm sorry what was that?" she turned her ear to him and leaned forward, moving her hips at an even more agonizingly slow pace. "Was I just imagining it? Or did I just hear an Uchiha beg?" she smirked deviously.

He sat up quickly and pressed against her, his sharingan activating without his knowledge. "Uchiha don't beg, they get what they want." He said with a smirk, bringing his hand up from her hip and rubbing her breast slowly. With his other hand he pressed her more fully onto him, rubbing her butt slightly in the process. Then he began to trail kisses down her neck, biting her when he reached her shoulder.

She gasped loudly, letting her arms fall to her sides and then travel softly up his abs. "Sabakus are pretty stubborn," she informed him, resting her head on his. "I'll make you beg," she said with a dark laugh, shoving him back down. Her sand swirled around them and wrapped tightly around his arms and wrists, holding him tightly in place. She hovered over him and started her slow pace once more, trying to keep it that way. But every now and then she found herself moving her hips faster.

He refused to beg, it was degrading. But, if she was going to use her natural born gift, then he would use his. He locked eyes with her and sent her into a genjutsu. One in which he was torturing her sensually. He smirked as he watched her face in the real world. Oh yeah, he was good. Her sand slowly released him, her concentration broken from the dream world he was putting her in. Her eyes closed and she tried to stop her panting.

While she was in his world, he flipped them over so that he was back on top, since her sand had loosened enough for him to get free. He leaned forward so that his mouth was next to her ear. "Sabakus may be stubborn, but Uchiha are crafty." He whispered huskily, grinding his pelvis into her so that she could feel the added stimulation.

She moaned loudly, trembling from everything she was feeling at the moment. It didn't take her too long to realize what he had done. "You asshole…" she barely got out before another moan escaped her lips from his thrusting. She bit down on her lip, breaking the soft skin and snapping from the genjutsu. He wouldn't dare put a strong one on her. She stared up at him, a mixture of aggravation and pleasure on her face.

He ground into her once more and rotated his hips slowly. "But you liked it." He said with a smirk. Then he began to thrust into her at a faster pace than the one she had set earlier, kissing a trail along her collarbone and neck.

"I just like someone who can finally dominate me," she smirked back, arching her back so he could have better access to her most inner parts. She let out an exhilarated yell, loving the feel. It felt _so_ good having him inside her. Her world was perfect and nothing could ruin it. After a while she could feel herself peaking again. She smiled, this was pure bliss, and it felt even better when he released inside her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and raked her nails down his back, screaming out his name.

He deactivated his sharingan and rolled over to the side, pulling her with him once more. Then he brought the sheets up to cover their bodies. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her softly. He was so exhausted, but so happy. "I love you." He sighed, smiling at her in content. This was the best birthday he had ever had in his entire life.

She snuggled into his grasp, "I love you too," she smiled, tangling their legs together. She let out a breath and looked up at him. "After a short rest…let's go again," her smile turned into a devious smirk. "I want to go until you have nothing left to put in me." she said, kissing him and then keeping her eyes locked with his she said "Happy Birthday Akito, I hope you liked your present."

He smiled at her tenderly and stroked her cheek. "I loved it. It was the best present I've ever gotten." They lay there for a while in order to regain their strength. After almost eleven years of foreplay, it was understandable that the couple would stay up all night with their rigorous activities.


	14. Busted

**Tempest**

_Chapter Fourteen_

-Busted-

Sasuke let out a small sigh as he entered his home. He had been sent on a solo mission, and because of it, had missed Akito's birthday. Perhaps he could teach his son a new jutsu to make up for it. Those thoughts in mind, he put down all of his gear and made his way to Akito's room. He opened the door and walked in, freezing at the sight that met his eyes. There was Akito, lying in his bed undressed, with an equally undressed Natsumi in his arms. Scattered around the room were Akito's clothes and a bunch of red ribbon.

Sasuke backed out of the room slowly and shut the door quietly. This wasn't good. He knew his son. He got attached to people, and the fact that he and the pink haired girl had slept with each other only meant one thing. They were more serious about one another than he had originally thought.

He showered quickly and got dressed, deciding that the elder Sabakus would want to know. Especially Gaara. He made his way to the hotel they were staying in and knocked on the door to the presidential suite. When the door was opened, Gaara just stared at him, slight confusion on his face.

"What?" The elder redhead asked.

"Are you alone?" Sasuke replied, looking inside to be sure.

Now Gaara was becoming suspicious. "…yeah…" he answered slowly.

"Good." Was all Sasuke said as he entered the room and shut the door. Once he was inside he went straight into the living room and turned to face Gaara. He had his arms crossed and was giving the Uchiha a weak glare.

"What is it?" he asked, since this was really weird. It was very abnormal that Sasuke would seek him out…ever.

Sasuke took a deep breath and crossed his arms as well. "Do you know…where I found your daughter this morning?" he asked slowly, gauging what the redhead's reaction would be.

"Sleeping with Akito probably." He said with a bored expression. This wasn't new to him. He sighed and walked over to the Uchiha and placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you are just finding this out, you have really been out of the loop. They've been doing that since…well probably since the Chuunin Exams."

Sasuke glared at the redhead. "My son has _not_ been having sex with your daughter since he was thirteen!" he said, raising his voice. There was just no way Akito would be able to keep something like that from him for all those years.

Gaara's bored expression dropped instantly. "…what…?" Now both men were confused.

"I came home from a mission this morning and found your daughter with my son, _naked_, in his bed. Are you saying that they've done this before?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow.

Suddenly Gaara was gone, leaving only a trail of sand behind.

* * *

Natsumi yawned, finally waking up with the light from the sun in her eyes. She felt so comfortable. She looked over and saw Akito. She smiled and snuggled into his warmth. Images of the night and early morning flashed through her mind. She had finally made love to Uchiha Akito, the man she'd been in love with since she was seven. She couldn't count how many times they had gone at it last night, having only stopped when they both collapsed from exhaustion.

Surprisingly, it hadn't been as bad as she thought it would be at first. Sure she was sore from her waist down, but that was to be expected. When she returned her gaze to her lover's face she was met with his beautiful green eyes. "Good morning," she said sweetly.

"Morning." He said, smiling at her. Then his brow furrowed a bit. "I didn't hurt you last night did I?" he asked, slightly worried. He had been a bit rough a few times the previous night. Not that she hadn't been rough as well, but she was more delicate than he was.

"I'm fine." She assured him, trailing kisses down his chest. "Actually," she moved her body over his, giving his pelvis a few kisses. Her lips lowered, moving farther down his body. "I'm ready to go again if you are." She laughed, letting her fingertips graze over his most sensitive area. Then she disappeared beneath the covers completely. Akito sat up abruptly with a loud gasp, placing his hand on her head.

"Natsumi," he panted slightly, a dark blush dusting his cheeks. What she was doing to him felt too good to be real. He vaguely wondered what would happen if he did the same to her. He moaned slightly and tilted his head back, reveling in what she was making him feel.

Finally she pulled her head up and took in a deep breath. She peered out from the covers and threw them back, placing herself on top of him once more. She gasped. It still felt so good even after so many times. She hoped Sasuke wouldn't be home anytime soon. That way she could stay in bed with Akito all day. Just as she started to move her hips a strong grip wrapped around her arm and yanked her back. She grabbed the comforter, trying to cover her body from whatever was now holding her. She looked up and went wide eyed, her face going stark white from pure terror. "DAD?!"

Gaara glared hatefully at Akito. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Said boy sat up, and looked at Gaara. "I'm letting your daughter have her way with me sir." He said, not breaking eye contact with the angry redhead.

Sand surrounded the _boy_, slamming him against the wall. "How DARE you! You impudent whelp!" Gaara shouted, releasing Natsumi and walking towards Akito. "How _dare_ you." He repeated. The redhead's eyes went wide as the sand began to release its captive. He looked back at Natsumi, whose hand was outstretched as well, pulling the sand away.

"Are you out of your mind Dad?! We were in the middle of something!"

"You do not talk to me like that Sabaku no Natsumi!" he yelled, facing her and looming dangerously with a killer intent. "Get dressed and get your _very_ sorry butt right back to the hotel. Your mother is going to hear about this and she's going to _murder_ you."

Akito decided to speak up then. "She's twenty-four years old, I think she can decide for herself what to do with her body."

"Akito, hold your tongue." Sasuke's voice spoke up from the doorway. He walked forward, arms crossed and a glare set on his face. "You and I need to have a talk." Akito glared back at his father, deciding to stay silent for the moment.

"Let's go." Gaara said sternly, grabbing Natsumi by the arm once more. He looked over to Sasuke and gave him a small nod, then disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Akito stood fully, causing the sheet to drop. He didn't really care that he was nude, it was his father after all. He walked over to his closet and pulled out some clothes, beginning to get dressed. "Do you realize what you've done?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, I just made love to the most beautiful woman in the world." He responded, pulling his shirt on and facing his father.

"You can't just sleep with her Akito. You have to be married first." Sasuke had always been more traditional, trying to keep the ways of his family alive.

Akito snorted and crossed his arms, mimicking his father. "You didn't marry mother. And who said that I wasn't planning on marrying Natsumi?"

"You cannot marry her! I will not allow it. And things were different with your mother and me. I was never meant to be married. I only slept with her to have you." He said.

"I don't need your permission to marry anyone. I will marry whomever I want, whenever I want." He replied, glaring at his father.

Sasuke's sharingan activated in his anger, causing Akito to do the same. Smirking, Sasuke activated his Mangekyou, his eyes widening when Akito's mirrored his. "When?" he asked, shock entering his voice.

"The mission to Mist. And I didn't have to kill anyone in order to gain it." The younger man replied with a smirk.

Sasuke's glare increased. "How dare you speak to me this way."

Akito walked up to his father and looked at him straight in the eye. "Stop telling me what to do and when to do it. I can live my own life. I love Natsumi, and she loves me in return. She has _always_ been there for me when I needed her, _and_ she was here for my birthday." Then he walked towards the door. He looked over his shoulder at his father's frozen back. "Just because you couldn't have the woman you wanted, doesn't mean that things have to be the same for me." Then he left, intent on finding Natsumi and rescuing her from her parents.

* * *

"I cannot believe you! How _dare_ you sleep with him. You aren't even married!" Gaara yelled, pacing back and forth in the living area. Natsumi sat, now dressed, on the couch trying to ignore him. Satomi was in the chair beside the couch, legs crossed and watching their father. "I can't believe Akito! I put trust in him!" he growled, running a hand through his red hair and growling. He was going to kill the Uchiha for deflowering his favorite child.

"I don't want to say I told you so dear, but I did." Sakura said, pacing in the opposite direction of her husband. Suddenly, curiosity got the better of her and she faced her daughter. "So? How was it?" she asked.

Natsumi blinked and looked at her mother, a bit confused. "Oh…" she blushed and looked over at her dad. He really didn't look happy. She focused back on her mother and a small smile formed on her face. "It was wonderful Mom. It was literally the best night of my life. I wrapped myself up in ribbon and gave myself as a present for his birthday."

"That is so cute! What a great idea! Isn't that a great idea-oh." Sakura said, turning and seeing the look on her husband's face. "I mean, you shouldn't have done something so reckless Natsumi. We're going back to Suna in a week, and you two don't even have a defined relationship." She said, becoming serious once more.

Sudden realization dawned on her. She _was_ going to have to leave. She lived in Suna and Akito lived here. She was frozen. She didn't know what to think. They really hadn't said they were in a relationship. He just said she belonged to him. Did that really mean the same thing? Gaara let out an irritated sigh, opening his mouth to speak. But it was Satomi that beat him to the punch. "Dad. Leave her alone." She said seriously, standing from her seat. "As much as I _hate_ the Uchiha…Natsumi is an adult. She can make her own choices. She isn't you and she isn't mom. For some reason she's in love with him and that's what people in love do…as you two have _clearly_ demonstrated our entire lives." She glared, not making eye contact with her twin, who was simply flabbergasted. She left the hotel room then, slamming the door behind her.

Gaara stared after her, matching Natsumi's shocked expression. Sakura let out a sigh. As much as she hated to admit it, Satomi had spoken the truth. "She's right. As long as you're careful sweetie, that's all I ask." She said, brushing some of her daughter's hair out of her face.

"Careful?" she looked confused. "Um…how are you supposed to be careful? Is it bad if we did it more than ten times?"

Gaara cleared his throat and took his spot next to Sakura. "Well…did he…you know…inside you?"

Natsumi turned a dark red. This was way too weird to talk about with her parents. "Um…yeah he did. Was he not supposed to?" she looked between them then.

Her father sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Every_ time?"

"Yes alright!" her face got even darker.

Sakura mimicked her husband. "Honey, you could be pregnant by now for all we know. And we won't know, not for another few days at least." She sighed and looked back up at her daughter. "If you are going to continue to…have sex…make sure that he doesn't…you know…inside…yeah." She said, slightly embarrassed at having to talk about this with her child.

"I don't understand why it matters, I don't feel any different. So I obviously didn't get pregnant, it is my body I think I would sense something like that." She glared. She had liked everything her and Akito had done last night. And she didn't want to change that.

"All I'm saying is, in a few days, I would like to check. I didn't realize I was pregnant with Toshiro until I was in my second week. And I still had to concentrate to detect you and Satomi. With your brother and sister it was easier, because I'd had practice. Just do this one thing I ask, honey, and I promise to keep my objections about him to a bare minimum." Sakura said, giving her daughter a pleading look.

She rolled her eyes and stood, she didn't want to hear anymore. She would have felt if _anything_ had changed with her body. And that was for sure. "I'm done talking about this. I'm not pregnant. I know that." She glared, leaving the two and slamming the door behind her, just as her sister had done before.

Gaara sighed. "Fantastic…why do our children make me feel so old?" he sighed, looking down at his wife.

"Maybe we are getting old." She murmured, tilting her head so that she could look up at him.

"Maybe…" he sadly agreed.

* * *

Akito wandered the streets looking for her. When he walked by her hotel, he saw her storm out of the entrance. It appeared her parental meeting didn't go that well either. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hey there beautiful." He said in her ear, pulling her against his body. She felt her smile return, she was glad to see him. She didn't want to think about all the things her parents had said. But they did need to talk.

"Hey." She said, placing her hands over his. "Hey Akito…can we talk?" she asked, turning around in his grasp.

"Sure. I know just the place too." He said, grabbing her hand and leading her off. He wondered what she felt that she needed to talk about. She loved him, he loved her, and they had spent all night making love. What else was there that needed discussing? He took her to the local park and sat underneath one of the cherry blossom trees overlooking the pond. When she sat down next to him he gave her a questioning look. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

She avoided his gaze for a while but finally looked at him. She took his hands with hers and sighed, "Akito…I have to leave in a week."

He stared at her, his mind trying to wrap around what she just said. He didn't want her to leave. Ever. "You could always stay…with me." He said softly.

"As what?" she asked, she wanted him to say it. That she was his girlfriend, or something. She needed some spoken truth about what they were to one another.

He blinked, not fully understanding where she was going with this. "What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

Her heart sank, and she sighed and shook her head. "It's nothing. Nevermind." She gave him a fake smile and rested her head on his shoulder.

He frowned and looked out at the water. She was lying, he could tell. He thought about what his father had said to him earlier, about them needing to get married before sleeping with each other. Then he thought back to what he had said in return. That he would marry whomever he wanted. Natsumi was the only girl he could ever see himself marrying, and now that he thought about it, it didn't sound like a bad idea. If they were married, she would stay with him and he would get to see her every day for the rest of his life. To him, it seemed like a great idea.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, rubbing it softly. He decided he needed to know if she felt the same as he did about the future. "We should get married." He said suddenly, surprising even himself.

Natsumi stared wide eyed out into the park. Had she heard him correctly? Slowly, she turned to face him. "What?"

"We should get married. I mean, it's what people in love do, right?" he asked, looking down at her.

"So…let me get this straight." She held up her hand and gave him a look. "You're asking me to marry you?" He nodded, not really seeing where the confusion was coming from. She arched her brow and crossed her arms, "Then aren't you doing it wrong?"

"No. I mean, we haven't really done anything in our relationship the right way. We've always been possessive of each other, I stole your first kiss, didn't tell you I loved you until after I nearly destroyed our relationship, continued to treat you the same way and chased after you even though I knew it was hurting you, and then we made love before even establishing what we were. So it only makes sense that we go about the rest of this in a way that nobody else would." He explained.

She nodded, that was all true and it made sense but…she was a woman. "Fine. I'll marry you." She said, leaning on him. "_If_ you get a ring on my finger." She held up her left hand to him and wiggled her ring finger. "Okay?" she asked, looking over at him with a devious smile.

He smiled down at her. "Well why don't we go pick out a ring together? I want to be sure that you like it."

Her taunting look fell. He was _really_ serious? She felt a soft blush covering her face. "Okay," she replied softly. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach. Akito wanted her to be his wife? Did he really want her to stay that badly? She remembered when she used to dream about marrying him, but as they got older she had never really thought about it anymore, just because their relationship was so complicated. They got up and she took his hand, letting him lead the way through Konoha.

He took her to the most prestigious jewelry store in the village. He walked in and went straight to the manager. "Uchiha-san! What can I do for you?" he asked, looking between him and Natsumi.

"Bring out every engagement ring you have and let her pick. Cost doesn't matter." He said, bringing Natsumi forward.

"Yes sir!" the man said, saluting them. He went through a door in the back and re-entered with a stack of trays. He laid them out for her and began to tell her about each ring. She looked through them and examined them carefully.

She picked out one that had a white gold band, a huge diamond in the center, and small diamonds encrusting the band near the larger one. "I want this one." She said, turning to Akito and showing him.

"Alright. We'll take it." He said with a nod, pulling out his money pouch. He counted out the amount needed for the ring and paid the man. Then he grabbed her hand and slid the ring onto her finger, smiling slightly the whole time.

She looked down at her finger and smiled, then jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. "Hmmm, Uchiha Natsumi. How do you think that sounds?"

"Perfect." He said, kissing her. Then he began to walk down the street quickly, not caring at the looks they were receiving.

"You know though…I'll still have to leave." She pointed out, making him stop.

"Why? Just have all your things sent over." He said after a while, resuming his walk.

She laughed and shook her head. "Akito…Suna is my home. I can't not go back one last time. I'll be back soon. And I want to say goodbye to my family. You could always come with me." She suggested. She really couldn't not say good bye to her brother and her aunts and uncles. She went wide eyed. "Oh my God…we have to tell my dad."

Akito stopped walking once more. "And mine…I didn't really think about it. Oh well. With or without their consent, I'm still going to marry you." He said with conviction.

She smiled and nodded. She was tired of things standing in the way of them being together. "You're right." Then they headed off, probably to their dooms.


	15. Positive

**Tempest**

_Chapter Fifteen_

-Positive-

Natsumi stared out at the ocean. She never thought she would go to a beach to relax. But it was the last place anyone would ever look for her. Slowly, she ran her hands through the soft sand, burying her hands beneath the grains. She didn't know how long she had been gone, but her parents would never leave Konoha without her. She lifted her left hand from the sand and stared at the beautiful diamond adorning her finger. She wouldn't be able to marry Akito… ever. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes.

When they had gone to tell their parents about their sudden engagement, it was like another ninja world war. Natsumi had thought it would be best to tell them together, so she planned a dinner. At first it had been pleasant. Her mother was happy, to an extent, since she really didn't like Akito that much. Even Sasuke and her father seemed pleased…that was until she had opened her big mouth and ruined it all. The moment she said they would all be one happy family, her dad and Sasuke went berserk. That was when all hell broke loose. They forbid the two, saying things they probably didn't mean, but it still hurt. And all because they didn't want to be related to each other. Was it really _that_ bad for them to be in-laws?

She sighed. She loved Akito and she wanted to be with him. But she just couldn't marry him if her father was so unhappy. And especially Sasuke. She wouldn't be able to live with displeasing him every day. She wanted him to want her as well. She placed her hand on her stomach and frowned. She wanted Sasuke to be happy. She wouldn't live in Konoha without his permission. She stood up then and walked forward, letting the waves wash over her bare feet. She stared out at the rising sun that began to illuminate the water. She needed to go back. She couldn't just run away from her problems. Though now…there were a lot more. She turned around and walked back onto the beach, picking up her shoes. When she got to the grass she moved her hand, ridding herself off all the foreign sand.

Natsumi let out a deep sigh. Things were about to get really complicated, and in no way would she get off easy for running away. She stretched and leaned forward, taking off into the plain ahead. It wouldn't take her but half a day to get back to Konoha.

* * *

The pink haired sand mistress sped through the gates, only having a gust of wind blast past the two old guards. She bounded between the buildings, heading straight for the hotel. She needed to see her mother. She was about to have an emotional breakdown. She hated how her mind worked when she was alone.

She landed in front of the hotel and walked in, not caring about the odd looks she was receiving. She headed up the stairs and threw the door open to the presidential suite. She felt no one else but her beloved mother. She ran in, slamming the door closed. The older woman walked out from her room and went wide eyed when Natsumi wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. "Mom!" she broke out into tears then.

Sakura wrapped her arms around her daughter and began to stroke her back. "What is it honey? Where did you go? Akito came by looking for you a few days ago, but your father and I didn't know where you were. We were so worried." She said.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, tightening her grip on her mother. "I'm sorry I ran away. I just couldn't deal with all this. When dad and Sasuke-sama fought, it was just breaking my heart." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "Mom…I'm not going to marry Akito."

Sakura pulled away from her daughter and gave her a shocked look. "What? Why? I thought you two loved each other." she asked, completely confused.

"I do love him…I love him so much…but I can't marry him…not if dad and Sasuke-sama are so against it. I wouldn't be able to live like that Mom. I just couldn't. I want dad to want me to be here and I want Sasuke-sama to want me." She told her, releasing her grip. She stepped back and collapsed onto the couch. "I could never be happy with Akito if daddy wasn't happy." She buried her face in her hands once more. "But I don't know what to do Mom, I'm pregnant." She rasped out, starting to sob once again.

The shocked look on Sakura's face grew somehow. "P-pregnant?" she asked in disbelief. She sat on the couch next to her daughter and began to rub her back once more, trying to comfort the girl. "Have you told Akito yet?" she asked eventually.

She shook her head, leaning against her mother and resting her head on her shoulder. "No…I just got back…"

Sakura moved her hand up to stroke Natsumi's hair the way she used to when she was little. "You need to tell him, it isn't fair for him not to know."

"I don't know…I don't want there to be a reason he's forced to marry me. Besides…I don't even know if he wants kids…and the whole situation with Sasuke-sama…I want him to love them on his own." She shut her eyes, starting to breathe normally.

She hugged her daughter closer to her. No woman should have to deal with this when she's pregnant. It was supposed to be a happy occasion when both parents were excited and nervous to have their first kid. "Oh sweetie. I'm sure Sasuke will love them…in his own way. He does want the Uchiha line to continue after all. And with Akito…you never know until you tell him. Miscommunication between a couple over children is never good. I mean, I thought your father didn't like or want children, and it made me sad, because I wanted so badly to have a son that looked like him. But in the end, it was just that he was afraid he wouldn't be a good enough father. But when we talked about it…and then found out that I was pregnant with Toshiro, he became so excited. I want you and Akito to be as happy as your father and I were. So, you need to tell him as soon as possible." She advised. Suddenly she sat back, fully realizing what Natsumi had said. "Them? You're having twins?!" she asked excitedly. As much as she didn't really like Akito, she loved babies. And theirs would be adorable.

"Um…" Natsumi looked down and stared at the ground. "Not twins…" she sighed deeply and then held up three fingers.

"Oh my God!" Sakura yelled, more than a little excited now. "This is wonderful! Oh honey, they are going be so cute, I just know it! I'm so happy for you." She said, tears coming to her eyes now. She was going to be a grandmother.

That wasn't really the reaction she had expected. She looked over at her mother and smiled sadly. "Thanks," she whispered, trying to be happy.

Gaara stood in the hall with his hand on the doorknob. He leaned forward, resting his forehead on the door. She wasn't going to marry the love of her life, because he and Sasuke could not put aside their disdain for one another. He stepped back, feeling ashamed. He could not believe how selfish he was. And triplets? He remembered when he and Sakura had talked about children, all the problems they had because they weren't honest with one another. He would not let Akito go without knowing his children, but that was a whole other problem. He had to talk to Sasuke, because unless they could come to an agreement, neither of their children would be happy. His sand picked up and took him away, carrying him off to the Uchiha's house.

* * *

Sasuke grabbed a cup from the cabinet and began to pour himself some tea, completely ignoring the new presence in his kitchen. He turned and glared at the redhead. "What." He said, more of a statement than a question. Then he took a sip of his tea, not breaking eye contact with Gaara.

"You and I need to talk." He said seriously.

Sasuke snorted. "I believe we talked enough a few days ago. Do you have any idea what your daughter has done to my son with her disappearing act? Not that I care, but he's been ignoring his training schedule. He hasn't eaten, he hasn't slept, and I will not allow him to die in such a pathetic way. It is unbecoming of an Uchiha."

"Natsumi's pregnant."

He paused in raising his glass to his lips once more. "What?" he asked, surprise showing on his face.

He sighed, but he refused to get angry. "Natsumi is pregnant." He repeated slowly. "With triplets. But she won't marry Akito anymore because she doesn't want to make us unhappy."

The elder Uchiha let out a small sigh. When he thought about it, his son was right. Just because he himself was never happy in life, didn't mean his son had to share the same fate. Plus, triplets weren't that bad. It meant in the future that she would have numerous other kids as well. And then the Uchiha line would be continued successfully. "She hasn't told him yet has she?" he asked, setting down his cup.

"She hasn't even told me yet. I overheard her talking with Sakura." He said with a sigh, and then took a seat at the table.

Sasuke sat as well and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Is she going to tell him? I mean, it's only proper that they marry now and she move here."

"She won't do it unless she knows you want her to. She doesn't want to tell him, because she didn't want him to feel obligated to have them. And same with you, she wants you to want her." Gaara explained, leaning back in his chair.

He lowered his hand and looked across the table at the other man. "I don't have a problem with her living here and being married to Akito. It was only being related to you. Because if I'm related to you, I will indirectly be related to the dobe." He said, meaning Naruto.

"I pretend I'm not," Gaara admitted, rolling his eyes. "Besides…he couldn't _possibly_ be any more annoying than he already is. Right?"

"You don't live in the same village as him." Sasuke said, crossing his arms.

"Touché." He smirked and then looked off. "So…" he glanced back at the Uchiha. "Should we intervene?"

Sasuke shook his head minutely. "No. They're adults, they can handle it themselves. If she doesn't tell him by tomorrow we'll do something. I won't have him moping around in the dark any longer."

"Yeah, I haven't really seen him around the village lately. What exactly _is_ he doing?" Gaara asked. He didn't really think Uchihas moped. It was as rare as seeing himself cry.

The elder Uchiha sighed once more. "He makes my meals throughout the day, and when he isn't doing that, he sits in his bed. He has the curtains drawn and the door shut, and keeps his sharingan activated. My only guess is he's waiting for her to come to him or something. But he doesn't speak, which is normal, although ever since you and your family arrived he's been talking more."

"That's kinda creepy." Gaara actually laughed, looking towards the hall where Akito's room was located.

Sasuke chuckled a bit. "Yeah, well we don't seem to handle rejection very well in this family. But even I wasn't _that_ bad."

"_Seriously_." Gaara smirked, crossing his legs leisurely. "No offense to Akito or anything, but at least you had some dignity. But if you want to see pathetic, Natsumi takes the cake. I love her with all my heart and she's one of my most vicious children, but when it comes to that boy." he shook his head with a smirk. "You know she hasn't smiled for five years? And she became all hateful, like nothing in the world mattered anymore because Akito hurt her feelings."

"Wow that _is_ pathetic. Life isn't full of sunshine and daisies you know. Just take a look at our crappy childhoods. That's two perfect examples right there." The ebony haired man said, the corner of his mouth tilting a bit. It didn't bother him as much to talk about his past, and for some reason he felt that it wouldn't bother the redhead so much either.

"I know." He seemed to get more animated. "I mean your whole family was murdered and I was detested by all living things and my own father tried to have me assassinated. Not to mention my uncle tried to do it himself." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Then there was your whole brother crisis. And we turned out…alright…" he stopped then and looked at the Uchiha and suddenly both broke out into laughter. Ha-ha, them? Alright? That was simply too much.

Akito walked in then, his face completely devoid of emotion and causing the two at the table to sober instantly. He had bags under his eyes and looked a bit leaner from the lack of food and exercise over the past three days. He wordlessly went straight to the fridge and pulled out sandwich fixings. Then he got down a plate and began to put together a sandwich. "Make one for Gaara." Sasuke ordered, watching as his son got down another plate.

When he finished making the sandwiches he got down two glasses of water and set them on the table. Then he grabbed both plates and set them down. Once he was done he left the room and headed back down the dark hallway. "See what I mean? He's even more emo than I was." Sasuke said once the coast was clear, pointing in the direction his son went.

Jade eyes followed the younger Uchiha and then focused on the elder. "Are you kidding me? He's even more emo than _I_ was, and I hated the whole world."

"I told him to stay away from her, because I knew this would happen. But no, nobody listens to the wise people." Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes.

"I told her not to go after him either," he pointed out, agreeing that he and Sasuke were wise beyond their years. "Just too much drama. But hey, I got an idea…" Gaara smirked and picked up the sandwich, taking a huge bite. "Come on," he gestured and brought the nice lunch with him. The two got up and crept down to Akito's room, sliding the door open just enough to peer in. Jade and onyx focused on the back of the depressed Uchiha. "Psssst." Gaara whispered, holding his hand up and hitting Akito right in the head with a small sand projectile.

Akito stiffened and turned his head sideways, sharingan visible. When he saw who it was his gaze hardened slightly, and then confusion entered it when he saw his father. What the hell were they doing? Couldn't they understand that he wanted to be left alone?

"Akito." Gaara called, not opening the door any more. He didn't want the psycho depressant boy to attack him. He stood straight and moved out of the doorway, pulling Sasuke with him. "I have some bad news…they found Natsumi fatally injured outside the village. She's in the hospital right now." He said seriously, it was easy to keep his face stoic. He was very skilled in this art after all.

"You should go see her, I don't think she has much time left." Sasuke said, face just as serious as Gaara's. Before either of them could blink, Akito was gone in a puff of smoke, off to see Natsumi. Sasuke turned to Gaara with a raised brow. "How did you know that was going to work?" he asked.

The redhead looked to him and his face contorted into one of irritation. "Because that stupid punk Shuhei used it on me five years ago." He seethed, just thinking about the blonde freak made him angry. "_God_ that kid is annoying!"

"Once again, you don't live in the same village as him. Do you know how many times I've had to resist killing them both while they sleep?" Sasuke asked, irritation evident on his face as well.

Gaara placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave him a nod, "You are the strongest of us all."

"I know." He said, accepting his fate. The two went back into the kitchen after that and enjoyed the rest of their sandwiches, talking amiably the whole time. Maybe being related wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Akito ran down the street to the hospital frantically. There was no way he would allow Natsumi to die, he didn't say she could. And he wanted to know why she had left. As he ran past the park, he saw her sitting on a bench near the tree he had proposed to her under. He stopped and stared at her for a few seconds in disbelief. Then he realized what his father and Gaara had done. It didn't make sense for Natsumi to be on the brink of death if Tsunade, Sakura, and Satomi were all in the village. It was just impossible. His anger built slightly, but before he could let it fester, he was right in front of her, staring at her downcast face.

"Natsumi." He said, completely serious.

Her gaze shot up to his, actually startled. "Akito," she gasped, going slightly wide eyed.

"Why did you leave?" he asked, somewhat accusatory.

Her depressing mood only got worse. "Because I'm a coward…"

His brow furrowed slightly. Her answer wasn't good enough for him. "Do you not want to be with me as badly as I do you? Because if so, tell me now, and I'll leave you alone." He said, preparing for the rejection.

Her expression turned to one of confusion. "Akito, I want to be with you more than anything…but you saw how our fathers reacted. I don't want to live with them hating each other because of us. Or my dad hating you and your dad hating me. I got nervous okay?!" she stood up, not really having the height advantage, but it made her feel more firm. "I love you, don't you _ever_ question that! I just got scared!" she yelled, tears forming in her eyes. This was not how she wanted to confront him. "I got scared because…" she trailed off, unable to finish.

"Because why?" he asked, stepping forward and looming over her. He was trying really hard not to give in to her tears, but he needed to know. He had thought that she was leaving him or something, since she had disappeared for three days without a trace.

"Because I'm pregnant!" she shouted, burying her face in her hands and sobbing. "I didn't know what to do. Not after what had happened with our parents. I was afraid that you wouldn't want them and that Sasuke would hate them and I didn't want to deal with it so I ran away!" she cried. She didn't know what he would do, but her expectations weren't high. "I don't want to marry you just because I'm having your children. I want your father to want me in his family."

His angry expression vanished instantly to be replaced with one of shock. "Children? You mean…I'm going to be a father?" he asked in awe.

She nodded slowly, "They're triplets…"

He couldn't explain how he felt in that moment. Happy, nervous, excited, tons of things. So he decided to use actions instead of words. He placed his hands on her hips and got down on his knees, so that his face was level with her stomach. Then he leaned in and kissed it through her shirt lightly. After that he turned his head and pressed his ear against her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him, trying to hear or sense his children.

She stared down at him, awestricken. "Y-you're not mad?"

He rested his chin on her stomach and looked up at her in confusion. "Why would I be mad? You're carrying my children inside of you. Now all we have to do is get married and my life will be complete." He said, smiling slightly at her.

She let her hands move to his face and play with his hair for a moment, before pulling him up to her level. "I love you," she whispered, kissing him deeply. She giggled when she felt his hand on her stomach. When they broke for air, she leaned against him. He pressed his forehead against hers and looked down into her beautiful jade depths. "I'm sorry for running away," she whispered, searching his deep forests.

"It's okay, I understand now. But next time…please tell me, so I'm not left in the dark." He pleaded.

"I won't ever leave you again," she promised seriously. She would never run from him ever again, she was tired of being away from his wonderful presence and all his love.

He stroked her cheek and kissed her tenderly. "Good." Then he picked her up in his arms and began to make his way home.

"Where are we going?" Natsumi asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smiled down at her. "Well, I'm going to go home and make love to the most beautiful woman in the world. Unless she objects?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"I dunno, is your dad home?" she arched a brow.

He stopped. "Actually, your dad was eating lunch with mine when I left…on second thought, let's go to the hot springs." He said, changing directions.

Her brow scrunched in confusion. Sasuke and her father were eating lunch together? Her face brightened. So maybe there was a chance she could have her happily ever after with everyone. She looked up at the amazing man she was going to marry. She had loved him so much and for so long, everything just seemed so perfect. "Better be careful with all that hot water, you might pass out." She snickered, playing with the hair that fell on the back of his neck.

He snorted. "Please, you'll be lucky if you don't faint from all the things I plan on doing to you. You have to be punished for leaving you know." He said with a smirk.

"Oh punish me, my master." She moaned loudly, not caring who heard. He just smiled triumphantly and sped up, wanting to get there as fast as possible.


	16. Agreement

**Tempest**

_Chapter Sixteen_

-Agreement-

Akito pulled the ever so reluctant Natsumi towards his home. "I don't know, maybe we should wait to do this." The young pink haired woman tried to pull back. Akito's grip only tightened as he gave her another forceful tug.

"Stop worrying. From what I saw this morning we might be in luck. So just come on." He said, not leaving her anymore room for objection. "Besides, we have to tell them you're pregnant eventually. They aren't idiots." he sighed, finally able to see his home.

He dragged her straight through the door, which she attempted to grab to stop his forceful behavior. "No! I'm not ready!" she cried out. Suddenly they were in the kitchen, the center of attention of the two older men.

"Father," Akito took a deep breath and locked with Sasuke's impassive gaze. "I have something to tell you…Natsumi is-"

"Dad! Sasuke-sama! I'm pregnant!" she shouted, unable to keep her cool as her face turned a dark red. Akito sighed and began to rub the bridge of his nose. That was not how he wanted to tell them.

Sasuke exchanged a look with Gaara and then looked back at his son. "So what are you going to do about it?" he asked in a bored tone.

"I'm going to marry her of course, because I want to. You two can just get over whatever hatred you feel towards the other, because this is going to happen no matter what you say." Akito said, looking between his father and the redhead across the table.

"Okay," Gaara shrugged. He looked over to his companion with a questioning look. "Good enough for you? I mean…just think of all the terrible things we could do to Naruto if we teamed up."

The elder Uchiha smirked evilly. "Way ahead of you." Then his expression vanished as he stood and looked back at Akito. "Just go talk to Sakura. I'm sure she'd love to plan the wedding. And you'll want it done soon, before your condition becomes noticeable." Then he and Gaara walked towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Akito asked, raising a confused brow.

"Gaara and I have an annoying blonde to torture." His father said without looking back. The redhead nodded and began to laugh darkly, soon joined by the stoic Uchiha. Then the two were gone.

Natsumi just stared after them, her expression unreadable. "I don't understand what just happened…" she whispered, her left eye twitching just slightly.

Akito shook his head and looked down at her. "They were worse this morning. _Much_ worse." He said, remembering the way they had tricked him.

"What did they do?" she blinked and stared up at him.

He let out a sigh. "They were talking, and smiling, and making fun of me. Then they ate lunch together, and tricked me into thinking you were dying in the hospital." He told her, annoyance evident in his voice.

She stared at him in awe, "They…were laughing…and smiling…together?!" she was wide eyed now, unable to even imagine the sight.

"Yeah like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time."

"Creepy…" she shivered. "Well," she sighed and took his hand for confidence. "Let's go talk to my mom…and tell Satomi the news…"

He grimaced. "If your sister tries to kill me I won't hold anything back. I have a family depending on me now." He said, putting a hand on her stomach and rubbing it lightly.

She set her hand on his and smiled lovingly at him, "Yes but…you do realize that Satomi is going to be your family too. Right?" she said as they left his house and began to head out of the Uchiha District.

"But every family has a relative they don't like right? Like your father and Kankuro. Satomi can just be our Kankuro." He said, looking at her hopefully.

"I would hope you do not treat her like Kankuro…and she won't even be in the same village as us. And Kankuro's a moron." She pointed out, finally seeing the hotel. "So no…if anyone was going to be our Kankuro…it'd be Toshiro."

He nodded, seeing her logic. "You know if they didn't have such a cute daughter I'd have told Minako to leave that idiot a long time ago. But whatever, love is blind." He said with a shrug.

She laughed and gave him a playful nudge. "You would not have you big fat liar. You love Toshiro, and you're glad that they make each other so happy." She headed into the hotel and finally they reached the presidential suite. She walked in with a big beautiful smile. "Hi Mommy!"

Satomi looked up from the couch, her glare instantly zeroing in on Akito. "What do _you_ want Uchiha?"

Akito returned her glare and crossed his arms. "I want you out of my village, to marry your sister, and raise the children she's carrying in peace." At the look of pure shock on Satomi's face he smirked in victory.

Natsumi was wide eyed and just barely intercepted her sister's fist before it made contact with Akito's face. "YOU GOT MY SISTER PREGNANT?!" she screamed, only being held back by Natsumi's sand. "You disgusting, low-life, asshole!"

Natsumi instantly grabbed onto Akito's shirt and dragged him down to her eye level. "Shut. Up." She glared threateningly. This couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Well she started it." He said, looking away from her. Sakura stood then and let out a sigh.

"Children, knock it off. _Now_." She said authoritatively, glaring at the three of them.

At her mother's request, Satomi backed off reluctantly. Natsumi's sand fell down and she let go of Akito. "Mom!" her face brightened instantly. "I'm getting married…well…again!" she clapped her hands together.

"What?!" Satomi huffed, crossing her arms. "You're _still_ going to marry him?!"

"Of course. That's what people in love do, not that I expect you to know what that's like." Akito said derisively.

"Akito!" Natsumi snapped, glaring over at him. "You are really starting to upset me."

Satomi smirked and set her hands on her hips. "Yeah Uchiha, you're a daddy now and bad things can happen to the baby when the mother is under a lot of stress." She pointed out professionally. "I don't want to be around you anymore so I'm out of here…" she started and kneeled down when she got to her sister and placed her hand on her stomach. "Hello little ones," she smiled beautifully, for once her angry expression disappearing. "Make sure you grow nice and healthy, you're going to have one amazing mother." She told them. She was actually happy she was going to be an aunt once more, even though she hated the father.

She stood then and headed out the door, slamming it in the process. Natsumi pressed her hands to her stomach and glared at Akito once more. "Why'd you have to do that?"

"Do what? Why do you always get mad at me when she clearly starts it?!" the young Uchiha asked, hurt and confused at the same time.

"Because she's my sister Akito! And I love her okay? I know that you don't like her and I understand why, but she's a complicated person and that was a mean thing to say." She scolded, facing him fully. "You've already won…" her angry expression fell and was replaced with sadness. "I'm staying here with you, forever. I love you, but I love her too. So for the time being, at least until I'm not pregnant anymore, can you try not to start a war every time you see each other?"

He sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine, but only because it could harm the babies."

Sakura clapped her hands together and walked forward then, a bright smile on her face. "Well, now that that's taken care of, shall we start the wedding plans? You'll need to write Toshiro a letter dear, he'll want to be here and so will Minako. Luckily Natsumi planned out most of her wedding when she was younger, so all we really have to do is the location, cake, dress, and time."

"You planned your wedding when you were younger? When?" he asked, raising a brow at her.

Natsumi turned a dark red, flashing her mother a glare. It was then that Gaara walked in with a pleased expression on his face. He looked at the group and decided to join in on the fun, since he always loved embarrassing his children. "Since she was ten," he informed the Uchiha.

"Dad!" she nearly exploded, covering her flushed face with her hands.

"At least that was when she made a scrap book of her dream wedding with you." The redhead said, walking into the kitchen and pulling out a water bottle. He came back out, untwisted the cap and took a large drink.

"Really now? Does she still have this scrapbook? I'd like to see it." He said, smirking at her.

Gaara mirrored Akito's expression. "Not here, I'll have Toshiro bring it from Suna."

"Oh my God!" Natsumi yelled, unable to control her angry sand from wrapping around the two men. "Stop it!"

"Now baby, you need to calm down. For the children. Remember what your sister said?" Akito asked smartly.

The sand tightened around him, before it fell to the floor and made its way back to its mistress. "Don't make our children fatherless Akito." She growled, crossing her arms and turning her back to him.

Gaara laughed, pointing at Akito teasingly, "You're marrying a psycho." He jeered.

"Hn. You married a psycho." He responded, walking over to Natsumi.

Sakura crossed her arms in a pout. "I'm not a psycho. Don't give me more reasons to dislike you Uchiha." She said.

He ignored her and wrapped his arms around Natsumi's waist. "I'm sorry. I think it's cute." He said in her ear, rubbing her stomach lightly.

She slowly relaxed and looked back at him. It was impossible to resist his touch and the feel of his body. Gaara wrapped his arms around Sakura and kissed her neck. "I think it's sexy." He whispered, now wanting the two to leave so he could have his woman all to himself. "What do you say my queen? Waffles?"

Akito looked at the elder Sabaku and pointed an accusing finger. "It was you! Why did you have to start the whole princess thing? Do you have any idea what I've had to deal with because of that? And waffles? Just call it what it is. Sex. I mean, I even had to have a talk with Natsumi about that!" he complained. When his kids were born he would be sure not to scar them this way.

The redhead just laughed and looked over at Akito. "You don't understand yet Akito. Sakura and I like to play games, and so thus began our King and Queen act. Naturally Natsumi would be my little princess because she is…when you have a daughter…you will understand why." He smirked, continuing to hold and kiss his wife.

"And waffles…well…" he buried his face in Sakura's neck and sighed. "Again, you will see."

Natsumi huffed and turned around in Akito's arms. "Are you saying I'm not a princess?"

He blinked and looked down at her. "I would never say that." He told her. He wasn't stupid. Any other answer would upset her. "Now let's go, before your parents start making waffles in the middle of the living room." He said, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the door.

She went with him and waved to her parents. As weird as they were, she wanted to be as happily in love as them when she was older. She looked back at Akito and knew that was her future, to be in love with him forever. Once they were outside she touched his cheek sweetly and smiled. "I want a big house, with enough rooms so my family can visit and stay with us. And…I don't want to stop at three." She smirked, walking away from him then.

He caught up to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "We'll start construction on a house in the Uchiha District. Pick wherever you want. And of course we won't stop at three, since you just can't keep your hands off me." He said with a smirk. Then he reached down and squeezed her butt lightly, running off towards his house shortly afterwards.

She yelped, blushing a bit and taking off after him. "If anyone can't keep their hands to themselves it's you Uchiha Akito!" she yelled, laughing as well. Their life was going to be wonderful, especially if she was always his princess.


	17. Family Gathering

**Tempest**

_Epilogue_

-Family Gathering-

_**Ten Years Later…**_

Natsumi laid on her large bed, inclined on one of the massive pillows with a book in hand. Her hair was still short, and she was dressed in tight black capris that went down just below her knees. She wore a matching black shirt with long sleeves that only went past her elbows. It was a V neck and stopped short, revealing some of her flat stomach. On the back was the Uchiha Crest, symbolizing her place in the clan. There was a small girl curled up beside her with dark black hair and brilliant jade eyes, almost shining with innocence.

The pink haired woman was reading to the girl, and they looked like they were having a wonderful time. Suddenly the thunder of footsteps was heard down the hall and two boys slid to a stop and hovered in the doorway. They both had dark ebony hair, looking extremely similar to the girl in bed with their mother, their eyes the exact same shade of green. "Mommy!" they shouted together. Natsumi stopped reading and held her hand up to silence the two.

"Kanamé, Noriaki, what did mommy say about interrupting her when she and Izayoi are having mother-daughter time?"

"To never disturb you." The oldest of the triplets, Kanamé, mumbled, looking down in shame from the disapproving tone in her voice.

Noriaki puffed up and ran in anyways. "Mom! Someone's at the door!"

"I told you not to answer the door if it's a stranger." Natsumi scolded, getting small giggles from the girl beside her.

"That's why we didn't!" Kanamé said, running in and joining his brother.

Finally sitting up, Natsumi sighed and gave the two a glare. "Then I don't see the problem. Go get your father. And don't bother me, I need some relaxing time too you know." She pointed out and lay back, snuggling with her sweet little girl.

"But Mom!" the boys said together once more.

"Eh!" she held up her hand again and gave them another look. "Go. Get. Your. Father."

"But-" they started again.

She sat up once more and set her hands on her hips, "Who are you more afraid of right now?" she glared, leaning a bit forward.

They went wide eyed and took off into the hallway. "Dad!" they ran towards the back of the house to the training room and slid open the door. "Dad!" they yelled again. In the room was a tall, dark haired man with deep green eyes. A smaller version of the man looked over, holding a few kunai in his hands.

"What is it guys?" Akito asked, pausing in training his second youngest son, Sanosuke. "I thought I told you to never interrupt a lesson unless it was really important." He scolded.

"Yeah you guys get your time with dad later." Sanosuke said, crossing his arms. In that moment he was almost a mirror image of their grandfather, Sasuke.

"But Dad!" they both shouted together, getting really tired of having to deal with their parents and all the rules. "There's someone at the door and they won't go away." Kanamé said with a worried expression.

"And mom said to come get you because she's having relaxation time." Noriaki explained.

Akito let out a sigh and made his way to the front of the house. He saw their youngest son, Hayate, standing on his tip toes and looking out through the curtains. "And just what do you think you're doing mister?" he asked, startling the young boy. Forest green eyes met that of their father's.

"Kanamé said to watch the door in case the weirdo out front tried to come in." the six year old said innocently.

By this time Akito was next to the door and had reached to open it. "What weirdo?" he asked, pulling open the door and coming face to face with a smiling Toshiro. "Oh hell. No." he said, quickly shutting and locking the door. He turned to his four questioning sons. "Boys, evasive maneuver number twelve. Go!" he said, heading towards the bedroom where his wife was.

Hayate ran ahead of him. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" he yelled, running in and jumping up onto the bed with his mother.

Natsumi blinked, taking her sweet little boy and holding him close to her. She was about to tell him that mommy needed some girl time, when she saw the other three boys run in and join her and Izayoi on the bed. "What's going on?" she asked, seeing her husband come in and slam the door, taking a chair and shoving it against the door.

She hugged Hayate closer and felt her sand particles begin to move and mix with that of her children's. "Honey, what's happening?" she questioned once more as Akito came closer.

He turned and came up to the bed, stopping once he reached the end. "Toshiro's here…and he brought everyone." He said, giving her a serious look.

Her eyes went wide. "Everyone?"

"Everyone." He repeated, activating his sharingan and looking around. "We don't have time to warn my father before escaping, so he'll just have to get out on his own."

She nodded and looked down at her children, "Okay kids. Vacation time. Escape route Alpha." She told them and they all got up and ran for the door. Natsumi pulled out an already prepared bag and slung it over her shoulder, tugging on her black ninja shoes. She picked up Hayate and held him tightly, throwing open the door.

"SURPRISE!" Toshiro and Minako yelled, blocking their only exit. Natsumi screamed and kicked them down to the floor.

"Get out of my house!" she ran over them, and slid to a stop, seeing her mother. "Haha! Mom!" she laughed awkwardly, trying to scoot off into another room.

"Hi sweetie! Oh my gosh! Is that little Hayate?! He's so cute!" the elder woman exclaimed, walking towards her daughter.

Hayate just buried his head in his mother's neck and glared at his grandmother. "Boys are not cute. They're handsome." He said, sticking his tongue out at her.

Akito stomped on Toshiro's head as he came out of the room and chuckled. "That's my boy." He said, ruffling his son's hair. Then he nodded in acknowledgement towards Gaara. "Sir." He said respectfully.

"Hello Akito," he nodded. He looked over towards Toshiro and Minako and sighed. "Get up son, you're dishonoring the family."

"What?!" Toshiro sat up with a foot print on his face. "Your psycho daughter attacked me!"

"Well Uncle Toshi you shouldn't walk into other people's houses." Izayoi said, crossing her arms and glaring down at him.

Natsumi walked to her mother and let her see Hayate better. "Its okay sweetie, it's just grandma and she thinks everyone is cute. Even grandpa." She teased her little boy and kissed his cheek, nuzzling him then and making him laugh.

Gaara walked over to Izayoi and smiled, "Well if it isn't my favorite granddaughter." He placed his hand on her head and kneeled before her.

"Dad!" Toshiro gasped, now back on his feet and steady. "You can't say things like that. What about Ami and Ayame?" the younger redhead crossed his arms and gave his father a glare.

"What about them? Izayoi is simply the most adorable little girl, and she's perfect. Beautiful and not annoying." Gaara explained making Izayoi laugh.

"Thanks Grandpa," she hugged him tightly. She loved her grandpa. She loved both her grandfathers actually, because she _was_ the favorite, though she really didn't know why.

"Hn. That's because she takes after my side of the family." Sasuke said, walking into the house. He had sensed the Sabakus coming and heard the commotion, so he decided to come over before Gaara could corrupt _his_ grandchildren.

Gaara took Izayoi in his arms and stood up, looking at his in-law. "Probably. After all Toshiro, your children have Naruto in them." He laughed, making the dark haired girl laugh as well.

"Hello Grandfather." She waved to Sasuke and flashed him a brilliant smile that could rival Natsumi's.

Kanamé smirked, "Grandfather likes Izayoi so much only cause' she's so much like mom. And he secretly cares for mommy deeply." The eldest Uchiha boy snickered.

Sasuke smirked evilly down at the boy. "You're just lucky your father trains you instead of me, or you'd be too scared to say that." He said darkly, causing the eldest to back up, slightly frightened. Sanosuke ran up then.

"You can train me Grandfather! I want to be a great ninja like you when I grow up!" he said excitedly, causing Sasuke to smile slightly. Out of the boys Sanosuke was his favorite, because he took after him the most.

"Sanosuke, you know how your mother feels about that." Akito reminded his son, glaring lightly.

"Yes sir." The young boy said, looking at the ground dejectedly.

Minako crossed her harms and huffed. "Hmph. I'm not _that_ much like my father."

"Yes you are." Everyone said, even Toshiro.

"Where are my girls anyway?" Toshiro asked looking around.

Kanamé was busy sticking his tongue out at Sasuke while Noriaki tried to hide the gesture from their grandfather. The front door busted open and a sandy blonde walked in, dragging two auburn haired girls with her. "Hello everyone!" Temari waved and laughed, pulling Ami and Ayame with her. "I found these two running around the district throwing balloons at people!"

Shikamaru walked in with a loud sigh and shook his head. "Uncle Shika! Aunt Temari!" Natsumi smiled, trying to hide her irritation. She didn't know Akito had literally meant _everyone_.

"And we're here too!" a young red haired woman walked in after them with an energetic blonde behind her. "And look, we brought Hikari," Yuki smiled, showing off her beautiful strawberry blonde child with bright green eyes.

Natsumi tried not to start hyperventilating. She walked over to Akito and handed him Hayate. "I need to go kill something." She strained out, before disappearing through one of the doors.

Izayoi watched her mother and smiled, "Mommy is going to her happy place." She told Gaara.

Akito sighed as he held his son. Then he glared over at Toshiro. "What the hell are you doing here anyways? Your parents I can handle, but not you and the rest of them." he said, gesturing to the whole group.

"It was my idea!" Naruto's cheery voice rang out as he and Hinata entered. "We don't spend much time together as a family, so I got Toshiro here to convince everyone in Suna to come." He said, smiling brightly at them.

Sasuke hit his friend on the top of his head, knocking him to the floor. "Dobe. Don't you know that dangerous things happen when you think?" he asked, cracking his knuckles. Hayate began to laugh at what his grandfather had done. He inherited his parent's love for seeing idiots in pain.

"Nice." Sanosuke said, crossing his arms and nodding his head.

"High five Grandfather!" Kanamé and Noriaki held up their hands. Sasuke smirked and gave them each one with both his hands.

It was then that Akito's irritated mood plunged down. Satomi walked in with that same annoyed expression on her face. She locked glares with Akito, but before their verbal battle could begin there was a loud yell. "Aunt Satomi!" all the Uchiha children cheered and ran to her, giving her a big group hug. Hayate had jumped from his father's arms and Izayoi from Gaara's. As much as it irritated the Uchiha, _all_ his children were absolutely infatuated with Satomi.

"Hello little ones," she smiled. This was the only time when she actually seemed happy and not such a horrid frosty bitch. "How are you? It's been a while."

"We missed you Aunt Satomi!" the triplets smiled in unison, unable to keep their excitement down.

"You should play with us Aunt Satomi," Sanosuke said happily. He loved watching Satomi do anything, because she was just so strong and most the time she hurt Naruto or Toshiro in the process.

"Only if she beats up that idiot she calls her brother." Akito said, glaring and crossing his arms. He _hated_ family functions. Absolutely detested them.

Natsumi finally came out, still looking really irritated. The door opened once more and Kankuro walked in. "Hey little Natsumi! Long time no see! Come say hi to Uncle Kankuro!" he smiled. She went wide eyed.

"HELL NO! THIS IS WHERE I DRAW THE LINE!" she disappeared, appearing behind Kankuro and roundhouse kicking him right out the door and slamming it after him.

Gaara chuckled, "That's the only reason I brought him." he nudged Sasuke. He simply loved when Kankuro got abused.

"Ah yes, every family has their idiot. In this case, we have Kankuro and Naruto." Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto grew red in anger and pointed at Sasuke. "Don't put me in the same boat as that loser! At least I got married and had kids, which is proof enough that women will actually be with me, instead of just going to bars where the women are paid for that sort of thing."

"Naruto you idiot! Don't talk about that stuff in front of the children!" Sakura yelled angrily, punching him into the ground.

"So that's where mommy gets her mean moments from." Little Hayate said, looking up at his father with wide eyes. Akito just sighed. He knew if he said anything he'd just get yelled at. And he wanted some bedroom action later, so he needed to be on his best behavior.

Natsumi let out a long sigh and just pointed toward the large living room. "Just everyone go in and sit down." She groaned. They all started to make their way into the living room and following her instructions. Temari looked down at Natsumi's stomach. "Good God Natsumi. How the hell do you have five children and _still_ have a rocking figure?"

Akito wrapped his arms around her and smirked. "I keep her busy at night…and sometimes during the day. It just depends."

She smiled beautifully and turned her head a bit, kissing her husband on the cheek. "You know that's right sweetheart."

"Dang." Gaara nodded, looking at his daughter and then at Sakura. "You must do it even more than Sakura and I, cause' no matter what I do to this woman she's still got a little-" he stopped midsentence, noticing the murderous glare sent his way.

Toshiro tapped his chin and nodded, "You know Dad I've been having the same problem. Ever since Ayame was born Minako has packed on a couple extra pounds right around the stomach and hip area." He moved his hands around said area.

Minako turned and jabbed her husband in the shoulder with the gentle fist. "Three pounds! Over all these years it's only been three pounds! And you never had a problem with it before you jerk! I'd like to see _you_ push a living being out of _your_ body! See how easy _that_ is!" she yelled, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"What!" he winced, rubbing his shoulder slowly with a glowing green hand. "Honey, I thought we talked about using that."

Natsumi smirked, keeping her hands on Akito's arms to hold them in place around her. She leaned back into him and sighed, "It's okay Minako, once again I come out victorious."

She looked over at her friend and raised a brow. "Whatever Natsumi-chan. No matter how many kids you have, my breasts will always be bigger." She said, smirking victoriously.

Her face dropped and the triplets went wide eyed. They looked over at their cousins and snickered. "My mommy is going to kick your mommy's ass." Kanamé said with a laugh.

"You're right Minako." She said, detaching herself from Akito. "But at least my body is proportional. And I have the stamina to keep my man satisfied until he can't go on anymore." She took a step forward and made a jab at her sister in law's shoulder, giving her a small push.

Minako jabbed her friend back. "It's not like I don't have the stamina. If Shiro-kun would quit working late all the time, we'd probably have more than just two kids. So blame your damned brother. A girl can only go for as long as the man anyways." She said, crossing her arms once more.

"Oh please, excuses." Natsumi waved her hand through the air. "First thing Akito does when he comes home from a mission is show me just how much he missed me." She set her hands on her hips then, in a challenging manner.

"Nice." Gaara nodded, giving Akito an approving look.

"Hey! That's no fair!" Toshiro huffed and crossed his arms. "Minako and I went at it three times on our wedding night." He smiled proudly, his lovely wife mimicking his expression.

Akito smirked at his best friend and walked over to his wife, draping an arm around her waist and rubbing her scar. "Well Natsumi and I went at it on my birthday, _before_ we were married, about…what…twelve…thirteen times?" he said, looking down at her with a raised brow.

The pink haired woman began counting off on her fingers, "Darling it was sixteen, remember with the-"

"Oh yes," he smirked, burying his face in her neck, causing her to giggle.

"Alright then!" Gaara stood and cleared his throat, becoming extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

Minako and Toshiro stared at the two in shock. "How?" he whispered, seriously unable to comprehend how his friend could have that much stored up.

"I think we'll just get settled into our room." The elder redhead said, grabbing Sakura's hand and pulling her after him.

"So what are we doing for dinner? Hm?" Yuki asked looking around.

"Let's have ramen!" Naruto, Minako, Shuhei and Ayame declared excitedly.

"No!" Every Sabaku and Uchiha yelled, giving the Uzumaki clan a threatening glare.

Natsumi let out an agitated sigh. She snapped twice and gave Minako and Satomi knowing looks. "Akito, baby, make sure the kids stay out of trouble and entertain our family. We have some grocery shopping to do." She ordered. She really didn't have enough food to feed this many people, and there was no way she was going to eat ramen, or subject her children to that garbage. "You two ready?"

"Born ready." Minako said, kissing Toshiro on the cheek before heading to the door. Satomi followed wordlessly.

Akito pulled Natsumi to him and kissed her passionately. "Don't take too long. You know how I hate this many people in our house." He whispered in her ear.

She touched his lips tenderly with her fingertips. "Divide and conquer my love. You have some back up." She snickered, kissing him again. Reluctantly she pulled from his grasp and headed out the door, grabbing her wallet.

"DAD!" All five Uchiha children yelled together.

"Ami says that Uncle Toshiro could beat you easy!" Sanosuke gasped in utter disbelief.

Gaara poked his head around the corner and hushed them. "Young ones. Do not speak such non-sense. There is only _one_ Sabaku male that is better than an Uchiha. And that's me…being better than Sasuke. I'm just saying."

"Show them the scar then, its way bigger than mine." Akito said, picking up his youngest son.

"I did show them! I don't know where they think I got it from." Toshiro sighed and fell back into the couch.

Hayate looked from his uncle up to his father. "My cousins aren't very bright, are they Daddy?" he asked.

"No, they aren't. But neither are their parents. Especially your uncle." Akito said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Toshiro sat up and glared, crossing his arms angrily. "I _am_ a Kage. I'm smart!"

Finally Gaara came back out with Sakura and let out a deep sigh. Temari got up and clapped her hands, "Well Hinata, Sakura, Yuki why don't we help and start pulling some tables together and getting that ready?" she looked over at the other women who nodded.

Yuki was up instantly, handing Hikari to Naruto. "Alrighty, we did kind of just show up after all." She laughed and disappeared into the kitchen.

Sanosuke ran up to Sasuke and clasped his hands behind his back nervously. "Grandfather, do you want to see what I learned in my lesson today?" he asked.

"Sure. Show me what your father has been teaching you." The elder Uchiha said, getting up from his seat and walking towards the training room. Sanosuke followed.

"Whoa, whoa. Hey little ones, how's your sand techniques?" Gaara looked at the young Uchihas, who stared at him in confusion.

Izayoi just sighed, "Mommy won't teach us how to use it until we're at least as fast as our daddy was at this age."

"Yeah," Kanamé nodded, "She says 'You should never rely on your sand for everything. Make sure you are adept in taijutsu and speed.' Though I really wish she'd teach us a little. We could demolish then!" he smiled excitedly.

Noriaki crossed his arms and huffed, "But she said we're close enough now for her to consider it."

"What?!" Gaara yelled, "Akito! How could you let this happen?!"

He shrugged. "As long as I get to teach them about their sharingan and how to use weapons properly I'm good. Natsumi and I both teach them about taijutsu, and it's not like I know how the sand works in the first place. I mean, I figured it out a little when I fought Toshiro, but Natsumi uses it in a completely different way."

"True." Gaara groaned. "Damnit Natsumi." He cursed and then smirked. "Hey kids, how would you like to learn the basics of controlling sand?"

The triplets went wide eyed, bright smiles forming on their faces. "Really?!"

"Go ahead kids. What your mother doesn't know won't hurt her. As long as you don't let on that you can do it, daddy won't get killed." Akito said with a shrug.

"YES!" they cheered, following Gaara out into the backyard.

Hayate just stared after them, clinging to his father's leg. "But Dad, mommy said no." he said, staring wide eyed up at Akito.

Akito looked down at his son and smiled. "But son, mommy left daddy here with all the crazy Suna people. And daddy always gets even with mommy. You know that's how things work."

Hayate nodded. "Yes Daddy."

* * *

Natsumi fingered through the tomatoes, plucking out the most plump she could find. "Why didn't you even send a letter, it would have been a nice warning. Seeing as now I have to feed twenty-two people." She glared back at her sister and her best friend.

"If you knew we were coming you would have left Konoha." Satomi pointed out knowingly.

Minako nodded. "And we wanted to surprise you guys." She said cheerily, helping her friend pick through the tomatoes.

"Terrible surprise." She mumbled, getting questioning looks from the other two. "Haha, you know what I mean." She smiled awkwardly and faced the other way.

Satomi sighed and started looking through the other vegetables, placing them in her own basket since they would be needing a lot of food.

"Oh Natsumi-sama!" one of the venders smiled. "Looking as beautiful as ever. Where's little Hayate? He usually comes with you to the market."

"Not today, Jiro." Natsumi actually smiled. "My family decided to surprise Akito and I with a visit so Hayate is with his daddy, making sure those psychos from Suna don't destroy our house."

He laughed and nodded. "Hayate is simply adorable. He looks just like his father, but his cute behavior comes from his lovely mother." He complimented. Finally he looked over and noticed Minako. "Oh my, if it isn't Uzumaki Minako, hmm, looks like you've been eating well in Suna." He laughed.

Minako glared at him. "It's Sabaku no Minako to you. And I only gained three pounds. Do you have a problem with that?" she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder and sending harmful chakra into it.

"Now, now Minako." Natsumi smiled, pulling the woman's hand off and replacing it with hers. Her hand began to glow and heal the vendor's arm. "No need to get so angry." She said, smiling brilliantly.

"Oh God. Here we go." Satomi rolled her eyes and walked off to find some good fruit.

Minako put her hands on her hips and glared at her friend. "If people commented on your small breasts wouldn't you get angry?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

She laughed. "Minako, I don't have small breasts. I have a proportional body, my breasts are the perfect size. Unlike your bozos," she sneered, now getting angry. She was pure perfection and she'd be damned if she was told otherwise.

Minako jeered at her friend. "Well, now that I've gained three pounds, my body is proportionate, just in a curvier way than yours is."

The confident look fell right off Natsumi's face. She stepped forward, glaring Minako down, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." The ebony haired girl said with a triumphant smirk, crossing her arms.

Natsumi moved quickly, slamming her leg into Minako's side and sending her to the ground. "I am a prize damnit!" she yelled, glaring down at her sister-in-law. "I am perfection. I am the epitome of beauty. I AM A DAMN PRINCESS." She pointed down and then smirked. "And I can kick your ass without breaking a sweat."

Minako stood and looked down at the fallen produce. "Great, now we have to get more." She said, picking up the basket and moving to replace the damaged items. She knew that she would forever have a larger chest than her friend, and she was fine with that. As long as Toshiro was happy with the way she looked she would be too. So it was him that she needed to fight with, not Natsumi. Plus it was better to just ignore her when she went on one of her princess rants.

She twitched and tried to remain cool. No one ignored her. _No one_. "That's what I thought." She scoffed. "Just as weak as always."

Minako let out a sigh and turned back to her friend. "I didn't travel all this way just to fight with you Natsumi-chan. I came because I missed you, and I wanted to see you. If you want to spend our entire stay arguing that's fine, but I would rather spend it with my family having fun."

"They're only your family because of me." She reminded her, turning her back to Minako. She went off and let out a deep breath. She hated how competitive she got sometimes, but she'd be the last to admit she was wrong. It didn't take long for them to buy the food, taking it home on the other hand proved to be a challenge.

Satomi sighed and held open the door, letting Natsumi and Minako in. The next thing they heard was an ear shattering scream, "MOMMY!"

Natsumi set the basket down and was gone, dashing down the hall. She slid the door to the training room open. "Hayate!" she screamed, running towards her bleeding boy. Ami and Izayoi were wide eyed and pale standing beside the smallest Uchiha.

"Mommy!" he yelled again, crying.

She was by her son instantly, holding a glowing green hand to his wound. "What did you two do?!" she glared at the girls.

"I-I'm sorry Mom." Izayoi began to tear up. "Ami and I were trying to do a jutsu Naruto showed us and it d-didn't work right." She sobbed.

Minako was at the door and gave her eldest a stern look. "Ami, what have your father and I told you about trying new jutsu unsupervised? You could have really hurt your cousin! Nevermind, where is your father?" she asked, looking down the hallway.

"AKITO!" Natsumi shrieked with rage. She looked back down at her baby and tried to give him a comforting smile. The gash on his arm was pretty deep, but nothing she couldn't handle. She returned her gaze to her daughter, "Go. To. Your. Room." She seethed, getting nothing but a respectful nod in return. Soon the wound was sealing and she ran her hand through Hayate's hair. "Are you okay baby? You're not hurt anywhere else are you?"

Minako grabbed her daughter by the arm and walked back towards the door. "Come with me young lady. We are going to go find your father and grandfather and talk about what just happened. _I_ certainly would like to know what they were doing while I was gone." She said as they left the room.

Akito ran into the room shortly after and looked down at his wife and son. "What happened?!" he asked worriedly.

"What do you mean what happened?!" she turned her glare up at him. It was hard, but she had to be mad at someone. This was her baby boy. "Izayoi and Ami were testing a jutsu out on Hayate. What on earth were you thinking leaving them alone?!" she demanded, pulling the boy into her arms and standing up.

"What do you mean? I left them with Toshiro and Naruto while I went to go check on Sanosuke and my father. He was showing him what he learned today." He said, not understanding her upset at him. He was the perfect father after all.

She tried to control the volume of her voice, "Why in the hell did you think that would be a good idea?" she asked, taking deep breath and hugging Hayate tightly. "It's Naruto and Toshiro."

"Well I at least thought Toshiro would be able to watch them properly. Is he okay?" Akito asked, walking up to them and placing his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Yes, he's alright now." She couldn't stay mad at her perfect man. She had already spent enough of her life being angry with him. She traced where the gash had been with her finger, making sure it was completely healed. "He had a long scratch right here. Are you okay sweetheart?" Natsumi asked him, kissing his cheek lovingly.

"Yes Mommy." He sniffed, wiping underneath his nose with his arm. "Now that you and daddy are here I'm okay." He said, laying his head on his mother's shoulder. Then he let out a yawn and rubbed his eye tiredly.

"I think someone's a little tired from today's excitement. Come on buddy, I'll put you down for a short nap." Akito said softly, taking his sleepy son from Natsumi. He looked at her, his gaze hardening. "While I put him down, go kill that stupid brother of yours if Minako hasn't already."

Natsumi cracked her knuckles and directed her hateful stare out the door. "Oh you can count on it." Hayate let out a small laugh as Akito took him from the room and towards his own. The pink haired woman stormed down the hall, sensing her brother outside. She slammed the door open and locked gazes with her brother. He was currently being scolded by a furious Minako. Gaara and Sasuke looked over and laughed in unison.

"You're dead."

Natsumi grabbed a few spare kunai sitting out from earlier practice and ran at her brother. "You moron! What kind if idiot leaves two little girls alone with a six year old!" she screamed, twirling the weapons expertly in her hands and aiming for her brother's throat. He moved out of the way just in time, going a bit wide eyed when his sand didn't react.

"Natsumi! I just went to go get some water, I left them with Naruto for like a minute!" he said, grimacing at the tug of war that was going on between their grains.

"WHY WOULD THAT EVER BE A GOOD IDEA?!" she cried out in pure fury.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized, narrowly avoiding all the slashes aimed for his body.

"You know better than to leave young, impressionable children with my idiot of a father Shiro-kun. I'm with Natsumi-chan on this one." Minako said, moving herself and her daughter out of the way so that Natsumi had more room to hurt her husband. He deserved it after all.

"And you'd think the one without Naruto's blood would be the wiser of the two." Sasuke observed, correcting Sanosuke's posture slightly.

"He's too much like Sakura." Gaara sighed, shaking his head. "Always seeing the 'good' in people. I simply do not understand." He laughed when Natsumi's foot made contact with Toshiro's face, sending him back. He slid, dragging his fingers on the ground and looking up with a crack going up his face. "Take him down my sweet little princess!"

A dark smile crept up her face, as Toshiro glared over at their father. "Dad!"

"What?! You're your mother's favorite! She's mine, just look at that vicious, ruthless smile." Gaara crossed his arms proudly. "That's my girl."

Natsumi disappeared, slamming her foot down on Toshiro's head. He growled out in pain but grabbed onto her ankle before she could touch the ground. He twisted around and slammed her into the nearest tree. She yelled out and coughed up some blood, hitting the ground as he dropped her. He jumped back and formed his hands to fists, taking a defensive stance.

Slowly Natsumi got up and lowered into a deadly pose, outstretching two fingers from each hand. "No one endangers my babies." She stated, disappearing in an instant, maneuvering through all her brother's punches and aiming for his vitals.

Akito came outside then and smirked at what he saw. "Don't scream too loudly when you die Toshiro, I just put Hayate down for a nap." He said, crossing his arms and watching the show.

The angry fury of pink finally got a hold of Toshiro and slammed him to the ground, rubbing his face into the dirt. Nothing was more powerful than a mother protecting her babies. "Don't you _ever_ leave my babies alone with that freak of a man, _ever_, _ever_ again." She seethed.

"Okay, okay!" Toshiro yelled. She got off him then and dusted her hands off. He stood slowly, rubbing his face. "Freaking psycho." He mumbled, earning himself another kick to the face, causing him to fall to the ground once more in agony.

Naruto walked out then, clapping his hands together and smiling. "What's up guys?" he asked, looking around the group. Minako was in front of her father in an instant, punching him in the face.

"How _dare_ you teach my daughter a new jutsu without my permission! I told you when she was born that Shiro-kun and I would teach her what she needed to know, because you always screw it up!" she yelled, kicking him down into the ground.

Natsumi smiled and held her hand out to Minako, who high fived her. She walked to her husband and kissed his cheek lovingly. "Make sure those idiots don't get blood in my backyard." She pat his cheek and walked inside, needing to start dinner.

Minako sneered at her groaning father and walked over to her husband, helping him up. "Honey, don't ever leave our daughter alone with my father again. I really would like to keep you around longer." She said, smiling slightly and kissing him on the cheek.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." He sighed, giving her a kiss as well. Minako walked into the house then to go help Natsumi with the cooking. It took a bit longer to prepare that much food for so many people, but finally it was all finished and the whole family was seated at an enormous table in the dining room.

They began eating and Toshiro was the first to compliment his sister on her perfect cooking. "Marvelous as always sis."

Ami cleared her throat and grabbed her glass, looking over at her aunt. "I'm sorry Aunt Sumi, but I need five and a half ice cubes, there are seven in here."

Natsumi stopped eating, mid-bite, and stared at her niece. She couldn't be serious. But Ami continued to hold her glass up, as if someone were going to get up and do such an insane task for her. She looked over at Toshiro, who then averted his gaze. "Oh hell no." she laughed, setting her utensils down.

"Dear, if you want five and a half ice cubes, go do it yourself. Otherwise get over it and eat the dinner your aunt was gracious enough to make you." Minako said, eating her salad.

"Why are you such a weirdo Ami?" Kanamé smirked, taking a bite of his mashed potatoes.

"Seriously." Noriaki joined in with his brother's laughter.

Gaara sighed and gave his grandsons a stern look. "Now, now boys. Be nice. It's not Ami's fault Toshiro and Minako are such abnormal freaks."

"Hmph. I just like even numbers, and Shiro-kun likes increments of five. At least ours are whole numbers." Minako said, taking a drink of her water.

Hayate set his fork down and gazed over at his uncle from his spot by his mother. "Uncle Toshi, how come you don't have any boys that we can play with? Ami and Ayame are weird and only play with Izayoi." He said, looking absolutely adorable with a confused look.

"Well you see Hayate-" Toshiro began, but was cut off by Sasuke.

"Your Uncle is not a real man, since he couldn't cause Minako to bear any sons." He pointed out without looking up, cutting into his steak.

Satomi actually choked on her food for a moment, trying not to laugh. Everyone else looked up in shock, but Gaara just nodded. "It takes a man to have a firstborn son."

Temari smiled and nudged her husband. "Hey Shika, baby, looks like you _are_ a real man." She snickered, earning nothing but an irritated look.

Natsumi looked over at her brother and laughed. "Well what if it's Minako? After all, Naruto didn't have a son first."

"Yeah but my father had a son second, so it really can't be me." Minako replied, taking a bite of her food.

"I'd have to say it is." Gaara spoke up, pointing his fork at Minako. "Toshiro was first born and Natsumi has four sons. Both my children who married Uzumakis only have girls."

"Well then blame it on him and my mother. Her father only had daughters." Minako said, locking gazes with the redhead.

"I'm just saying." He shrugged and continued eating.

"If it takes a real man to have boys," Sanosuke smiled happily, "then my dad must be more of a man then all of you."

"That's because Uchiha don't breed pansies." Sasuke said, taking a drink. Akito smirked victoriously, glad that his father was on his side.

"Damn right we don't." he nodded, smiling over at his wife.

Natsumi smiled at him and leaned over, kissing him sweetly on the lips. "It takes a real man to keep a real woman satisfied."

"Damn straight." Sakura laughed, kissing her own husband lovingly.

Naruto crossed his arms and glared at his friends. "Hey! I keep Hinata-chan satisfied! So that means I'm a man too!" he said.

Every single person at the table started laughing, even Shikamaru. "Sure you do Naruto," Gaara smirked, shaking his head.

"That's because Hinata hasn't been with anyone else Naruto, to see what a real man is." Toshiro snickered. At least he did a good job pleasing his lady.

"Shut up Toshiro. You're not a real man so you can't talk." Akito said, cutting Hayate's food for him. Hayate giggled and looked up at his uncle, sticking his tongue out in the process.

The redhead's jaw dropped and Ayame huffed in defense of her father. "At least we're more adorable! Right Daddy?" she smiled, looking up at him.

Both Izayoi and Natsumi glared over at the younger redhead. "Now, now." Yuki spoke up, trying to calm the storm before it could start.

"Oh no." Natsumi held up her hand to silence her younger sister. The sibling wars had already begun. "Think wisely before you answer that Toshiro."

He paled a bit but turned to Ayame. "Yes sweetheart, you are." He said with a smile. He did think his daughters were the most beautiful girls, and he would suffer his sister's wrath-filled ego to make sure they knew that.

Akito looked over at his wife and kids with a triumphant smirk. "Don't worry, as long as your grandfathers believe you're more adorable, which you are, we'll always have one over on your cousins."

"Which we do." Both Gaara and Sasuke said together. Izayoi smiled brightly and continued to eat. The boys snickered, doing the same, sticking their tongues out at their cousins.

Dinner went on, more bashing and laughs going between the family. When everyone was finished Natsumi, Sakura and Satomi began to do the dishes as everyone else either headed home or went off to their rooms. Finally when everything was cleaned the three pink haired women said goodnight and went to their own rooms.

Natsumi closed her bedroom door and let out an irritated sigh. "What a long day." She said, looking at her husband, who was already in bed and reading a book. She pulled off her shoes and tossed them aside. Deciding she really didn't want to change she pulled off her shirt and made her way to their bed. When she was beside it, she pulled her capris down and slid into bed with Akito.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take." She groaned, resting her hand on her forehead.

He set down his book and looked over at her, gazing appreciatively at her choice in nightwear. "We could always punish them by showing them how loud I can make you scream." He said, reaching over and rubbing her thigh.

She felt a sly smile creeping up her face. "Oh baby, I don't need a reason to want you to make me scream." She leaned over to him, taking a new position over him and straddling his waist.

"But I'll try extra hard this time." He said, reaching up and unclasping her bra. He slid it down her arms and tossed it to the side. Then he began to kiss her neck, rubbing her hips as he did so.

She leaned down and kissed him deeply. "Now I'm excited." She giggled, reaching over and pulling on the switch to the lamp. He rolled them over and disappeared under the covers, causing her to gasp at his next actions. The rest of the night was filled with the intense sounds of their lovemaking, because just like any Uchiha, they had to demonstrate more than once how good they were.


	18. Konoha vs Suna

**Tempest**

_Epilogue_

-Konoha vs. Suna-

"Mommy, I'm hungry. When's breakfast going to be ready?" Hayate asked, watching his mother rush around the kitchen.

"In a minute baby, why don't you help mommy and get the plates and silverware out." She turned to him and gave him a loving smile.

He nodded, "Okay!" he walked over to the cabinets and started to pull out the things they would need and placed them down at the table in the dining room. By the time he had finished Natsumi was placing the platters of food on the center of the table. She decided to just make a buffet, cooking bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, toast, and everything else she could think of.

Akito came in and kissed Natsumi on the cheek before sitting down. "The kids are up and should be in here shortly." He told her.

Gaara and Sakura walked in then, followed by the excited triplets. The three sat down, but before the redhead took his seat he focused on one of the plates. "Natsumi…what is the meaning of this?"

She blinked and followed his gaze, seeing the waffles. "What do you mean?"

It was then that Satomi, Toshiro, and Minako came in. They were followed by the two girls and Sanosuke. "Waffles? At the breakfast table? Did you not get enough last night?" he arched what could be a brow.

"She never gets enough." Akito said, reaching for the waffles. "Besides, we don't need food to spice things up in bed."

They all sat down and Toshiro went wide eyed at the sight. "Natsumi?! Waffles?" he gasped.

Ami and Ayame looked at their father and then the waffles. "Mommy! Intervention!" they yelled together.

Minako placed her hand on Toshiro's leg and began to rub it lightly. "Honey its okay. We've been working on this remember?" she asked in a soothing voice.

He nodded slowly, trying to regulate his hyperventilating. It was then that Sasuke walked in and took his seat, looking around at the freakish group. "Good morning Sasuke." Natsumi smiled, preparing a plate for Hayate. "Here you go sweetheart." She said placing it in front of him. Ami and Ayame immediately went for the waffles, almost giving Toshiro another heart attack.

"Hn." The elder Uchiha replied, filling his plate with pancakes and sausage. "Good for you maybe. I could hear you two all the way from my house."

"Good, then that means I did a great job." Akito said with a smirk, showing Hayate how to properly cut his food.

"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted, arriving with Hinata, Shuhei, Yuki, and Hikari. "Man, breakfast looks great." He said, sitting down and preparing a plate.

Natsumi tried to suppress a groan as more uninvited guests came in. Finally Temari and Shikamaru joined the group and sat down. "Seriously, think about the children." Gaara shook his head with a sigh. "You will scar your kids for life with all that noise."

"What noise?" Noriaki asked, looking from his grandfather to his father.

"Nothing son." Akito said. Then he looked up at his father-in-law. "They have learned to block the noise, but apparently your kids couldn't. So already ours are better off and less scarred." He said, pointing his fork at him.

"You know, if they didn't each have trouble sleeping when they were young I bet they could've blocked the sound too." Sakura observed, putting whipped cream on her waffles.

Satomi looked over at her parents. "I blame you guys."

Natsumi shrugged, "Heh, I don't have sleeping problems anymore."

"I don't either!" Toshiro smiled, looking at Minako.

"I _wonder_ what the common factor is there." Shuhei coughed and glanced over at Satomi, who flashed him a hateful glare.

"Say it and you die." She said stiffly and cut into her pancakes.

"Bitter." The young blonde muttered, taking a bite of sausage.

Yuki smiled at her husband and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it an agonizing squeeze. "Now, now dear. Be nice."

"Yes Yuki-chan." Shuhei said grudgingly, wincing slightly at the pain.

Shikamaru sighed and looked over at his niece. "Well I didn't sleep well thanks to some people. I didn't realize you were a screamer Natsumi." He said with yet another sigh.

"Seriously!" Toshiro huffed, "What the heck was that about? I thought you were getting attacked!"

"Well, it takes a real man to make his woman scream in pleasure." Akito pointed out, looking up at Toshiro. "You might just be able to redeem yourself." He said with a smirk.

"Hey! I can make Minako scream plenty!" the younger redhead huffed, pointing his fork at his friend.

Akito snorted. "I highly doubt it." He said, continuing to eat his breakfast.

"He does so Akito-kun! All the time!" Minako said, defending her husband.

"Hey now, there's no need to fight." Gaara said, taking a bite out his sausage. "It doesn't matter anyway. Everyone knows that men from Suna are way better in bed."

"Clearly, seeing as how I didn't have to wait until marriage to get my woman into my bed." Akito said, drinking his water.

Gaara glared at Akito for the first time in a long while. "Excuse me? If I wanted to I could have had Sakura before we were married. I chose to respect the standards she had. Isn't that right my love?" he said, looking over at his wife and taking her hand in his.

"Yes darling, it is." She responded, squeezing his hand and smiling back at him.

"Well Natsumi may have had standards, but she couldn't resist my sex appeal for very long. So it goes to show that men from Konoha are more attractive." Akito said, smirking at his father-in-law.

"Heck yes we are!" Shuhei declared, pumping a fist into the air. Naruto high fived his son energetically.

"If men from Konoha are so attractive then how come Ken lives here?" Toshiro asked, a victorious smirk creeping up his face.

"I never said all men from Konoha are attractive. And besides, not all men in Suna are either. You are a perfect example of that Toshiro." Akito quipped.

Toshiro stood and slammed his hands on the table, glaring over at the Uchiha. "You want to say that again Mr. Emo Every Day of My Life?"

"You heard me Mr. Sunshine." Akito said, not threatened in the least. He had beaten Toshiro once, and he could do it again.

Sasuke chuckled. "Looks like you're ugly too Gaara, since the boy takes after you."

The redhead scoffed, glaring over at his old rival. "_If_ I were ugly, which I am not, I couldn't have stolen Sakura from you. And I wouldn't have been able to produce such attractive children." He pointed out, crossing his arms with a smirk.

"He's right, I am very attractive." Natsumi sighed happily.

"And yet you still wish your son was as cool as mine." The elder Uchiha stated, looking up at his old enemy.

"I wish no such thing. I love my son just the way he is." He glared once more. "Is it such a crime that I think your son is good and I like him?"

Natsumi sighed and waved her hands in the air, "Alright. Now, now. Konoha really is the best, after all _I_ live here. And I'm the most beautiful person in here. Besides you baby," she smiled, tugging Akito over by his shirt and kissing him deeply.

"And yet we in Suna don't have to remind ourselves daily about how awesome we are, because it is a well-known fact." Minako pointed out, tugging her husband back down next to her.

"See Minako, you don't understand real beauty. It's only true if people other than your husband and Ken tell you so." She snickered. Just as Minako was about to open her mouth to protest, she was cut off. "And your daddy doesn't count either."

"I think she's pretty!" Shuhei declared, pointing a finger up in the air.

Minako gave her brother an annoyed look. "Beauty is only skin deep, and obviously, I'm a much prettier person on the inside than you are Natsumi-_chan_." She taunted.

Before Natsumi could lunge across the table, Akito wrapped his arm around her. "Who cares about looks, its physical prowess that's the most important thing. We could beat you any day, any time, because we're _that_ much better." He said.

"Then prove it." Gaara laughed cockily. "How about today we play a little family game? Family from Suna versus family from Konoha."

Natsumi locked eyes with Minako and smiled sadistically. "Fine. You're on."

Hayate looked at his mother and then over at his aunt. "Mommy," he said cutely, tugging on her shirt. "Don't hurt Auntie Mina too bad."

Sasuke looked over at Gaara and an evil glint entered his eyes. "I'm in." he said, crossing his arms.

"Alright! Now there's no way we can lose!" Naruto declared.

"Good," Natsumi smiled. "You guys can even pick the game. Just so that we can prove it even more."

"Why don't we play soccer? I play all the time during recess at the Academy." Ayame suggested, looking around the table.

"I think that's a great idea sweetheart." Minako said, smiling at her youngest daughter.

Natsumi clapped her hands together. "Perfect. It's settled then, once breakfast is over we will all get ready and head to a big field." She smiled.

They all nodded and ate breakfast, boasting about who would win the game. Once everyone was done, Natsumi and Minako started to clean up while everyone disappeared into their rooms or off to their houses to get ready. The two women finally finished cleaning and looked at each other confidently. "I hope you're ready for this sand princess." Minako smirked.

"More than ready little flower." The pink haired woman snickered, leaving down the hall and making her way to her room. She walked in and saw Akito, pulling off his shirt.

"Sweetheart," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and pressing her front against his back. "How do you ever expect to get me out of the house when you show your body to me?" She teased, kissing his neck and letting her hands slid down and into his pants.

He leaned his head back and rested it on her shoulder, smirking at her. "Well, you could always _try_ to practice self-restraint. But…I do believe we have time for a quickie." He said, reaching behind him and grasping her butt, pulling her closer to his body in the process.

She moved her hands and let him turn around to face her. "As long as the time doesn't make it any less satisfying." She teased, knowing her husband well enough that he would never leave her unsatisfied. He pressed her body against his and then lifted her, tossing her onto the bed.

She looked up at him, propping herself up with her elbows. "Oh Master, I've been so bad. Please punish me." She begged, "Make sure you teach me a lesson Akito-_sama_."

"Damn straight." He said, crawling over her. He took out a kunai and cut her shirt in one clean swipe. Then he did the same to her bra, letting the material fall down her arms. "You've been naughty as of late, teasing me with your alluring figure." He said, grasping a breast and squeezing it. Then he began to kiss down her neck. "How should I punish you? Should I make you scream?" he asked huskily, moving down her front.

"Make me beg for mercy." She demanded in a sultry voice, not caring that her clothes had just been destroyed. She lifted her hands and let them run through his hair lovingly, forcing his body closer to hers.

"As you wish." He pulled off her pants and underwear then, keeping his lower half completely covered. He slid his hands up her smooth legs, and when he reached her pelvis, began to stroke her slowly, using his other hand for support. "Beg." He ordered, licking and kissing his way up her stomach and across her chest.

She let out a loud moan, loving his touch. "Don't tease me Master!" she whined loudly, not caring who heard. It almost made her smile that all in their home would hear just how amazing Akito was at his natural talent. She fumbled clumsily with her hands at his pant line, her mind going blank from his antics. She wanted him now and she would have him, even if he was her master. She was a princess and she always got what she wanted from her knight.

He grabbed her hands in his and gave her a disapproving look. "Ah, ah, ah, slaves never control their masters." He sat her hands on the outside of her legs and bent over, kissing her scar. Then he moved so that he was kissing a more sensitive part of her body.

She arched her back, letting out another loud moan. "_Please_," she pleaded, trying to break free from his iron grip. She took in a sharp breath once he began and couldn't stop the pleasured sounds resonating from her throat.

He stopped after a while and stood. Then he undressed, smirking at the hungry look in her eyes. He crawled back over her, and before she could do anything he rolled her over and quickly entered her from behind, causing her to let out a pleasured scream. "Your pleas have reached my ears Slave, and I have decided to show you mercy." He said, thrusting into her.

She went wide eyed and gasped, gripping onto the sheets for any kind of anchor. She couldn't even think anymore, she loved when he dominated her body, when he proved just how everything she had to offer belonged to him. She hadn't even registered she was yelling out in pure ecstasy. The backboard to their bed slammed against the wall repeatedly, adding to the already damaged area.

He reached underneath her and gripped her breasts with his hands, squeezing them roughly as he continued to pound into her from behind. "Are you sorry for your transgressions Slave?" he asked in her ear harshly, panting slightly from exertion.

"I'm so sorry Master!" she called out with a squeal, turning her head just so she could see him. "Please show me your love by forgiving me. I promise I will do better." She giggled, letting out another yell from his hard thrusts.

He kissed her passionately, continuing his assault on her body. When he pulled away he smirked. "Come for your master Slave. Scream his name out in ecstasy."

She nodded, already feeling her body succumb to his. She could never hold out long against him anyways, unless she was angry with him. But even then it still didn't last long. "Oh AKITO-SAMA!" she screamed out, feeling her release, her arms trembling from having to support her body.

He grunted and released into her after that, collapsing on top of her body when it was all over. He reached up a hand and began to stroke her hair. "If you do well in this upcoming game Slave, your master will show you his pleasure later tonight." He said, smiling slightly at his exhausted companion.

She laid her cheek on the bed and looked back at him the best she could. "I'll make sure I give it my all _Master_. I'll show you just why you love me." She teased, with a small laugh.

He pulled out of her then and rolled her over, kissing her tenderly once she was fully facing him. "This in itself is reason enough to love you." He whispered, kissing her once again.

She kissed him back, tangling her limbs with his. "Because I bring you sexual release?" she arched her brow. She loved making him say things he normally wouldn't.

"Because you make me feel incredible. And I love dominating you." He said with a smirk, reaching down and rubbing her scar. "Although, the sex _is_ a huge bonus."

She smiled happily, and snuggled closer to his being. "I love you Akito." she whispered, giving him a small peck on the lips.

"I love you too squirt." He replied, nuzzling her affectionately. "Now come on, I'm sure everyone is waiting for us." He said, getting up and pulling her with him.

She sighed, disappointed about having to leave but excited to win. She let him help her up and then walked into their closet, pulling on some new undergarments. She took out some short black shorts, with the Uchiha symbol on the right side, and pulled them on. They were nothing short from booty shorts, but she didn't care. She pulled on her knee high ninja shoes and then took down one of her black shirts from a hanger. She slipped on the halter top and tied it tightly around her neck. It was short enough to expose her midriff and her beloved scar. Finally she grabbed her black gloves and put them on tightly, coming out of the closet.

Akito finished pulling on his black shirt and gloves. When he saw Natsumi he brought her to his body and ran his hand up her side. "You know, if you keep wearing such tempting clothes, I will have no choice but to punish you again." He warned, smirking down at her.

"Why do you think I wear them?" she taunted, leaning up and brushing her lips against his. "I get punished for it later." She snickered, giving him another small kiss before pulling from his grasp. "Let's go baby." She said sweetly, making sure her strut was exceedingly tempting to him.

He followed her out, squeezing her butt when he walked by. They entered the living room then, and were met with everyone's knowing looks. All except Sasuke, who had been outside occupying the kids, while his son and daughter-in-law 'played'. "What?" Akito asked innocently.

"Really?" Gaara asked, arching what could be a brow. "Even Sakura and I aren't that inconsiderate." Though he couldn't help but smirk. Akito was definitely a good son-in-law.

"Hey now Dad, sorry I was a bad girl. Right baby?" she looked back as Akito came up to her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. He stuck his thumbs into her pant line and kissed her neck.

"Of course. I have to punish her when she steps out of line." He said, rubbing small circles on her hips. Hayate ran in then, followed by his older siblings and Sasuke.

"Mommy!" he yelled, running up to her and hugging her legs. "Did you and daddy have fun playing?" he asked.

Natsumi smiled brightly, just loving her son to death. She picked him up and hugged him tightly. "Yes we did! Did you have fun with grandpa?" she nuzzled him sweetly as he hugged her face.

"Yeah! He was showing Kanamé , Noriaki and Izayoi some taijutsu moves while Sanosuke practiced kunai throwing, and I even got to learn how to kick properly!" he declared with a bright smile.

"He's a natural." Sasuke observed, going into the kitchen to get some water.

Hayate looked between his parents curiously. "So who won the game?" he asked.

"Daddy did of course. Daddy _always_ wins." Akito said ruffling his son's hair. Then he turned to the rest of the group. "Are you guys ready to lose?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Not on your life." Toshiro smirked and crossed his arms.

"Let's go already." Gaara sighed, walking out of the house with everyone else. It was time to get serious and take Konoha down once and for all. Though he was a bit reluctant to beat his favorite child.

They walked to a large field then, and Naruto arrived shortly after along with Neji and Tenten. "I grabbed these two in order to make things even. Hinata-chan can just sit with the kids and watch them." The blonde said with a smile. "Not that we need to make it even or anything. We could still kick your asses without even numbers. I'm just saying."

Gaara laughed and scoffed as Natsumi walked up with a soccer ball and Hayate. "Okay so everyone knows how to play right?" she asked, making an odd face when Ami stayed on the field. "You sure that's a good idea Toshiro?" she arched a brow.

The redhead waved his hand. "She wants to play, so why not?"

Natsumi shrugged and carried her beloved son over to Hinata. "Bye, bye my sweetness." she smiled, kissing his cheek and nuzzling him. "Mommy loves you."

"I love you too Mommy! Don't be too mean to Aunt Mina, I mostly want to see Uncle Toshi get hurt." Hayate said to his mother.

She placed him in Hinata's caring arms and kissed him once more, reluctant to leave. "Aww but my little love, you know daddy loves to hurt Uncle Toshi." She pressed her nose against his.

"Daddy likes to hurt everyone who's inferior to him."

"That's right baby." She smiled and held his face gently with her hands. "Because Uchihas are the best." She pressed her lips to his forehead and then pulled away. "You guys ready to play?"

"You mean, are they ready to lose?" Shuhei asked with a laugh, and then he looked over to Neji. "Uncle Neji are you sure you can play in your old age? I mean, it's been a while since I've seen you in action." He teased, smiling in humor.

The old Hyuuga sighed and gave the boy a look. "Don't make me hurt _you_." He threatened, and then focused his pale gaze on Natsumi. "My young pupil, do me proud. Let's take them down."

She nodded and walked over to Akito. "Try not to make me struggle too much." she smirked, leaning up and kissing him. "The children are here." She purred, letting her body press against his.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and nuzzled her affectionately. "I'll try, but you know how I like to tease you." He murmured.

"Alright already, jeez." Tenten placed her hands between the two and laughed. "Let's just play before you guys start to play a different game."

Hayate covered his eyes and gasped. "Mommy and daddy are playing again, Aunt Tenten?!"

"No son. We only play in public when we feel really daring. Right now though you can watch us beat up your Suna relatives." Akito said with a smirk.

Hayate uncovered his eyes and smiled at his parents. "Okay Daddy, I will."

"Public?" Minako asked, shocked.

Gaara nodded with approval. "Keeps on impressing me."

"Okay!" Natsumi clapped her hands together. She took the left forward position and tossed the ball over to Sasuke, who took the middle.

Minako stood in front of Natsumi and Toshiro faced Akito off. Everyone took their positions and stood ready. Gaara stepped up and smirked at Sasuke. "This should be interesting."

"Of course. You will finally get your face smashed into the sand you love so well." Sasuke replied with a smirk of his own. Then he dropped the ball and kicked it over to Natsumi, knowing that she was fast enough to get it across the field.

She caught the ball expertly with her feet, kicking it up and heading the ball right over Minako. She disappeared, flipping past her friend and nailing the ball with her foot while it was still up high. It soared through the air towards the goal and the right side of the field.

Akito was there in an instant, spinning and kicking the ball towards the goal. Before it could enter the goal box, Temari jumped up and hit the ball towards her nephew. "Take out those Uchihas!" she cheered. The redhead moved towards the ball and spun around, sending as much chakra into his leg, powering the kick tenfold.

"Oh crap!" Natsumi went wide eyed and disappeared once more, sliding to a stop in the ball's trajectory. She raised her hands and formed a thick sand wall that suddenly burst, slowing the ball. Natsumi turned around and kicked into the ball, feeling her bone snap from the force. But it sailed back towards the other side of the field. "Akito you _better_ send that through the net!" she yelled out in pain, falling down and placing a glowing green hand on her shin. It was a clean break, so it would only take a minute to fix.

"Daddy! Mommy's hurt!" Hayate yelled from Hinata's lap.

Hearing this, Akito was next to the ball in an instant, running with it towards the goal. He appeared in front of the net in the blink of an eye, and kicked it in before Temari could block it. Then he was at Natsumi's side, helping her to her feet. "Are you alright honey?" he asked, making sure she was alright to stand.

She kept a tight grip on his hand as she finished and then shifted her weight to her leg. "Yes, I'll be just fine." She smiled and looked over at her angry brother.

"Minako." He said, looking over at his wife. "Take her down."

"Of course Shiro-kun, as long as you take care of Akito-kun." The ebony haired woman replied, activating her byakugan. Seeing this, Ami, Shuhei and Neji did the same. Akito and Sasuke exchanged a look and activated their sharingan.

They all got back into the positions they had been in before. Kanamé looked at his father and felt his eyes shift into the crimson sharingan. "I think things are going to get really fast." He said to his siblings, who did the same. Hayate stared at them and then at the field.

"Mommy!" he called, getting the pink haired woman's attention.

"Yes baby?"

He looked sad and worried, "Make sure daddy protects you!"

She smiled, giving her son a sweet look. "Daddy always protects mommy, so don't worry."

"Well Gaara? Aren't you going to put the ball into play? Or are you too old to do it?" Naruto called from his spot in the back.

The blonde was suddenly knocked over by a wave of sand. "Shut up old man. I'll take as long as I damn want to." The redhead scoffed and set it down, glancing at Sasuke's feet. He was well aware that they had activated their sharingan and would not subject himself to their genjutsu. He ran forward and faked a kick, hitting it over to Minako.

The ebony haired girl flash stepped with the ball to the other side of the field. She was stopped by Shuhei, who had moved to intercept her. They both broke out into a gentle fist fight then, until Minako kicked Shuhei and maneuvered the ball around him. By then Toshiro was on the other side and she sent the ball sailing towards her husband. "Kick it in Shiro-kun!" she yelled as her brother slammed into her side in an awful attempt to mess her up.

Toshiro took the ball skillfully and rushed it towards the goal. He glanced over, seeing Akito right there. And with as much speed as he could muster, charged his foot and aimed the ball. Akito slid for the ball in attempt to get it away from the redhead, but felt his shirt jerk back as Satomi ripped him backwards and threw him across the field. The ball soared through the air with a wicked speed and punctured the sand wall Yuki had placed around the goal, as well as the net.

"Yay!" Minako yelled, running over and hugging her husband. Then she kissed him lightly. "That's how it's done." She said, smiling.

Akito stood up and shook off the shock of hitting the ground, popping a few bones in the process. He glared at the smirking Satomi as he walked back across the field, vowing to himself that he would get her back before the game was over.

"Your sister's going to get it. Don't try and stop me this time." He told Natsumi when he stopped.

She snickered softly and pat his shoulder. "It's okay, just shake it off. You know we're going to win." She smiled and walked past him, back to her spot. "And if you need some more initiative…if you score the winning goal, tonight for your victory prize I'll even put on your favorite outfit…" she gestured to her body and set her hands on her hips. "But if _I_ get the winning goal, I get to be on top."

"Deal." He said with a smirk. Even if she did get to be on top that didn't mean she would get to set the pace or anything, since she didn't specify. And he would use that to his advantage later.

Sasuke got the ball and waited for everyone to be back in their spots. Deciding to be cruel, since technically she wasn't _his_ grandchild, he kicked it forcefully towards Ami, knowing that she wouldn't stand a chance against any member of his team.

She smiled, glad that she would get a chance to prove herself to her parents. She ran for the ball, and seeing that her grandmother was open, kicked it forcefully in the direction of the elder medic. Sakura got the ball with ease and began to run down the field. Naruto was in front of her then, but before he could do anything she punched him in the jaw, sending him flying into the goal.

Deciding that she had gotten far enough, Sasuke appeared in front of her and sent her into a genjutsu, stealing the ball before she came out of it, since he knew she was adept at that. He kicked it to Neji, who then made his way down the field.

"Sasuke you jerk!" Sakura yelled once she left the genjutsu and saw that her team no longer had the ball.

Neji slid to a stop, being confronted by both the Kazekage and the elder redhead. He glanced over and saw his old student weaving around her family, sending fatal blow to their arms and legs, disabling them for the time being. The Hyuuga hiked the ball up and then spun around, preforming a rotation which kept the two sand masters away and sent the ball towards Natsumi. She headed for the ball and then kept it up with her knee, falling to her hands then and twisting her body so she could get as much power into her kick as possible. The ball rocketed through the air and flew right past Temari's hair, giving the wind mistress a fatal gust.

"HAHA! GOAL!" Natsumi cheered, running back with her hands in the air as the five smaller Uchihas yelled their praises. Akito swept her into his arms and kissed her. When he pulled away he said, "I'm still going to make the final one." And then went over to his side.

Gaara let out an annoyed sigh, this was getting aggravating. He hadn't really considered the fact that Akito _and_ Natsumi were going to be on the same team. It was hard enough to deal with Sasuke and Akito, but Natsumi was just fast and precise, not to mention vicious. He looked over to his granddaughter and saw her troubled face. "Ami what's wrong?"

"I don't like playing with Aunt Sumi and Uncle Kito. Mom never told me that they were faster than her. And Aunt Sumi is vicious while Uncle Kito is brutal." She complained.

He nodded and pat her head. "I know, I know. No one likes to play with them. But one day, hopefully, a member of our family will proudly bring them down." He stomped for emphasis and gave her a smile. "Don't worry about them. Just…don't get in Aunt Sumi's way, she won't stop. Though Uncle Kito might be a bit more gracious."

"Hey Gaara! Quit yackin' and start kickin'!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up Naruto before I come over there and give you a real reason to yell!" Sakura shouted back, raising a fist for emphasis. She was still irritated about getting caught in that genjutsu so easily.

He set the ball down and sent it forward, already knowing that either Akito or Natsumi would be there in an instant to get it. But he gave looks to his son and daughter-in-law. If they were going to win, they needed to focus on only one opponent each. Sasuke had turned to face the ball, so when Gaara's foot made contact with his face, he was nothing short of surprised. He fell down from the impact, hissing a bit from the fact he had allowed himself to be even slightly distracted.

By now, a lot of villagers had crowded around, watching the game with immense interest. There were many women giggling together, their whispers containing nothing but squeals for Akito. Though there was quite an amount of lustful looks directed at the younger red headed Kazekage.

Minako, trying to ignore the fact that other women were ogling what was hers, flashed towards Natsumi and sent a kick towards the pink haired woman's face. When she dodged, as Minako knew she would, she engaged her friend in a match of Gentle Fist versus her harmful mimicked jutsu. Both women had improved over the years, and were each able to successfully dodge the other's attacks.

Seeing that his wife was busy, Akito ran for the ball, keeping in mind his red headed friend's whereabouts. Just as Akito was about to make contact with the ball, a sand wall flew up, causing him to run smack into the barrier. It wrapped around the Uchiha quickly, solidifying and cementing him to the ground. Toshiro took the ball then, and with Natsumi and Sasuke distracted it would be easy to maneuver around Shuhei and Naruto. The two blondes were on his tail the moment he thought of them. "Look!" Toshiro yelled, pointing off, "Free ramen!"

"WHERE?!" the Uzumakis burst with happiness, searching around as Toshiro pushed past them, coming head to head with his youngest sister. He pulled his leg back, but she was there more quickly than he had anticipated and both their legs smacked the ball between them with an intense amount of force, almost popping it. It shot up into the air like a rocket and disappeared into the clouds for a moment.

As it came down, Temari sent a gust of wind at the ball, sending it flying towards the enemy's goal. By then, Shuhei had realized that he had been tricked and flash stepped to the goal, intercepting the ball. Before he could take it to the other side of the field however, Shikamaru caught the young blonde in his shadow and forced him to kick it in.

"Damnit!" Shuhei yelled angrily.

"Shuhei, watch your language." Hinata said softly, sending a glare towards her son.

Yuki growled, tossing the ball back to Natsumi, who had ended her brawl with Minako. "I say we all take a water break. Since it's tied right now." She looked around, only getting nods, since they were using a lot of energy.

"Good idea sis, it's getting kinda hot anyway." Toshiro said with a laugh, grabbing his shirt and pulling it off to reveal his toned body. "Man that feels good!" he smiled and then blinked, looking over at the crowd who had gathered around to watch the show.

Akito followed his friend's example, not wanting to sweat too badly. When he heard the squeals and giggles he rolled his eyes. Then he walked over to where his kids were sitting and took a long drink of water.

"You and mommy are doing great Daddy!" Hayate said, bouncing happily in Hinata's lap.

"Thanks buddy. Now kids, keep your sharingan activated so that you can copy a few hand movements for your sand." He whispered, getting nods in return from his four oldest.

"We have Daddy! We've been watching mommy like a hawk." Izayoi smiled.

Kanamé and Noriaki nodded. "And Uncle Toshi and Aunt Yuki as well. It totally makes sense now. But Grandpa and mommy's techniques are so different."

Natsumi walked over then, wrapping her arm around her husband's waist and kissing his cheek, getting angry yells. She ignored them, having already gotten used to the terror they tried to give her. "What are you guys talking about?"

"I'm just telling them to watch everyone's different fighting styles with their sharingan, so that they can practice them later." He answered, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh what a great idea! Have you guys learned anything yet?" she asked, getting nods from her four oldest.

"Mommy!" Hayate out stretched his hands for Natsumi, wanting nothing more than to be in his mother's arms.

She picked him up and snuggled with him. "Oh my sweet baby boy. I love you so much, did you miss mommy?"

"Uh huh! But it's okay, cause' Grandma Hina tells me interesting facts about everyone's moves, and her lap is almost as comfy as yours." He said, smiling brightly.

"That's because Grandma Hina is the nicest grandma to ever live." Natsumi told him, giving him a sloppy kiss. She smiled down at Hinata, grateful for the woman who truly was a good grandmother to her children, since Sakura could not be there with them.

"Thank you Natsumi." Hinata said, smiling back up at her.

The pink haired woman looked back to her husband and arched a delicate brow, taking in his delicious appearance. "My love, I thought you were going to refrain from tempting me." She smirked.

"I said no such thing. Besides, it's what you get for wearing that enticing little outfit." He said, kissing her cheek. This caused a few of the girls in the crowd to groan, jealous of the attention Akito gave his wife.

"This was for easy movement. That's all." She waved her hand in the air. "It's not my fault you get turned on from everything I wear."

Shikamaru came up and gave his niece a once over. "You should wear things like that more often, might spice up the relationship." He told his wife, who smacked him over the head with an annoyed sigh.

Minako cocked her head to the side and looked up at Toshiro. "Do you feel the same way Shiro-kun?" she asked.

"Well, you know. Hah, honey I like how you dress, you don't have to change a thing." He smiled, kissing her cheek and pulling her closer to him.

"He's lying." Gaara said flatly, walking past the two. "Yeah he loves you, but nothing turns a man on more than when his woman's body is accented the way it should be. That…and violence. I dunno why, it's just hot." He smirked, just thinking about his own lovely partner. "Like…there's a very thin line between wearing too less and just enough. Like Natsumi found that line a long time ago. Just enough exposed to be attractive and show off to all the other men what they can't have, yet decent enough so she's not looking like a prostitute."

Natsumi didn't really know how to feel about that, but gave her dad an odd look. "Thanks?"

"Well," Minako said, running her fingers over the young redhead's flat stomach. "If you can't tell me the truth, then I guess I can't show you the new outfit I bought yesterday." She said, giving him a suggestive look.

He fought back an angry groan. That question had been a trap anyway so how was he supposed to get out of it? "Fine." He crossed his arms with a huff. "I guess you won't, since I suppose I like the way you dress now."

She glared at him, upset that she didn't get the reaction she wanted. "You _suppose_?" she asked, raising an angry brow. "If you don't like the way I dress all you have to do is say so. There's no need to tiptoe around my feelings." She said, crossing her arms.

"I said I liked the way you dressed! What the heck woman? Is there no way for me to win?!" he threw his hands in the air and walked off to get some water. Akito walked over to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Clearly you still have a lot to learn about women. What you should have said was that your relationship is already spicy, and that she looks sexy in whatever she wears." He said.

Toshiro sighed and rolled his eyes, "But I don't care what she wears and I said she looked good, which she does. And I'm not like you. I don't say things like that. I like her to be a little conservative. My dad was right about _most_ men. I don't want her flaunting it. No offense, but I really don't want to have to go through what you went through." He crossed his arms and glared at his friend. "I don't want Minako to get kidnapped or whatever. I want her safe in my house where whenever I want to see her body I can, simple as that. I mean you _do_ realize that's why so many people are after Natsumi right? Cause' she flaunts her looks like she rules the world and, whatever, I guess in a way she does cause' she's a Sabaku who married an Uchiha and gets whatever she wants when she wants but _still_! I can't handle that kind of stuff like you can." he admitted, though he really hoped Akito wouldn't spread that weakness around.

Akito just smiled at his friend's admission. "It makes sense, but you should probably tell Minako that, not me. Because you _know_ she'll go off and try changing her look just to make you happy."

"I never said I _wasn't_ happy!" he huffed once more. God he really hated women sometimes. Their irritating need for constant reassurance was really stupid.

"Well it's obvious that she doesn't see it that way. If she did, she wouldn't be angry. I'm just saying." He said.

"Well I'm just saying she can get over it and stop putting words in my mouth." He said and then filled a paper cup with some water, draining it quickly.

"MOM!" Ayame, who happened to have been spying on the two, yelled. "Dad thinks you're pretty and are going to get kidnapped because Aunt Sumi flaunts around and Uncle Kito can't handle whose after the world she rules!" she ran towards her mother.

Natsumi blinked and stopped playing with Hayate, a confused look crossing her face. "What?"

"He said he's afraid of mommy!" she told her aunt in mid-run. "And how Uncle Kito can stand you. But he couldn't stand mommy if she were taken by her looks!"

"What?!" the pink haired woman glared over at her husband, obviously misunderstanding.

Akito's eyes widened at this. This was why Ami was his favorite niece. "What she means to say, since she obviously can't eavesdrop properly, is that Toshiro thinks Minako is pretty the way she is, and is glad that she doesn't dress as revealing as you dear. Because that's why you got kidnapped so often, and he wouldn't want to deal with it the way I had to." Akito clarified, leaving out some of the more embarrassing facts. This is why he hated family visits. There was always unnecessary drama.

She went wide eyed and stood, her glare only becoming icier. "Excuse me?" she seethed, her aura turning dark and very threatening.

Toshiro tried not to laugh, seeing now that he had been saved and his friend was now in the dog house with his sister. And _no one_ wanted to be there, because his little sister ripped anyone and everyone to shreds.

Realizing his mistake, he held in a groan. "You know I didn't mean it that way honey." He said, walking over to her. "A knight is always supposed to rescue his princess." He murmured, giving her a searching look.

Her angry stare didn't let up. Hayate laughed smiling up at his father and reached up to him, but only in a pointing manner. "Daddy you can't say bad things to mommy, you know she gets mad. Mommy is a prize." He mimicked his mother's words.

"I realize that son, she was very difficult to win because she is such an amazing prize. And I will fight for the rest of my life to keep her." He said, reaching out a tentative hand and stroking her cheek.

She was obviously trying to force herself to stay angry, but his touch always made it more difficult. "Damn straight." She mumbled, moving away from him and handing Hayate back over to Hinata. She hesitantly stepped towards Akito, but stopped, locking eyes with him.

Akito stroked her cheek once more, running his thumb over her soft lips. "So…do I still have you?" he asked, hope in his voice. Hope that she was no longer upset that is.

She averted her gaze and huffed, "You know you will always have me." She said, glancing back at him, searching his eyes and hoping he would give her what she wanted.

He cupped her cheek and kissed her tenderly, tilting her head so that he had better access to her mouth. She smiled in response and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "I love you." she mumbled against his lips.

"And I you." He responded, kissing her passionately.

Toshiro smacked his hand to his forehead. "How does he make it look so easy?!"

"Because he isn't an idiot." Sasuke muttered, taking a drink of water.

The redhead glared over at the elder Uchiha. "I am not an idiot. He's just had more practice kissing up than I have." He smirked, crossing his arms knowingly.

"Perhaps, but at least he is a fast learner." Sasuke replied, throwing away his empty cup.

"Whatever. Thirty years isn't fast."

"You say that, but he is over there kissing his wife while yours is on the other side of the field." The elder Uchiha observed, walking away.

Toshiro sighed, "Touché…" he left then, trying to go make up with his wife.

Over in the crowd of girls stood a somewhat tall brunette with blue eyes. She gazed at Akito longingly, but when Toshiro walked by, her attention switched to him. Her eyes trailed over his form appreciatively. "Wow, I didn't know the Kazekage was that attractive." She observed, causing a few girls around her to agree.

Minako paused in kissing her husband, glaring at the woman. "Who the _hell_ is that?" she asked. Natsumi walked over then, since Akito was discussing strategy with his father.

"Oh, that's Taka. I've had to deal with her and her jealousy for the past ten years. By all means kill her Minako. Please." She said. Then the group began talking once more.

"But Akito-sama is attractive too." One of them pointed out.

The brunette woman nodded. "True. I guess the only way to really tell which one is better would be to see their hard, toned bodies completely naked. Then we could see which one was more talented, if you know what I mean." She said suggestively.

"That's it, I'm going to kill her." Minako stated. Then she looked at her friend. "Care to join?" she asked, raising a brow.

"I'll skin her alive." Natsumi said darkly, walking towards the group, who immediately shied away from her. Hayate followed his mother with his eyes and started laughing.

"Grandma, mommy is going to kill." He smiled up at Hinata.

Taka blinked and turned around when all the girls around her paled and moved away. "Hello Taka." Natsumi and Minako said together, beginning to laugh insanely alongside one another.

She gave the pair a once over and sneered at Minako. "Well, you I'm afraid of Natsumi, but her? There's no way in hell someone _that _blubbery would be able to harm me. I'm too fast for her."

Minako's glare faltered a bit and she self-consciously felt her stomach. Maybe she should cut back on the ramen, since even a complete stranger noticed her weight.

"Whoa! You psychotic _bitch_!" Natsumi snapped, moving between Minako and Taka, her sand swirling dangerously around the Leaf Anbu. "There is nothing wrong with Minako, she's beautiful and thin, despite all the ramen she eats. And you know what," the angry woman jabbed the brunette, sending a sharp stab of chakra into her shoulder. "Look in the mirror fat-ass, cause' you're packing on some pounds, probably from all the depressive eating. And she's had two beautiful girls and a loving husband you happened to be ogling. So if you don't back off I will _kill_ you."

Minako gave her friend a grateful look. Taka just narrowed her eyes. "So she can't even defend herself? That's pathetic."

Before she could even blink her head was kicked harshly and she hit the ground with a grunt. When her vision cleared she met with furious blue. "I can defend myself thank you very much." Minako said, jabbing the other woman's shoulder and cutting off the chakra there. "And for the record, Shiro-kun is _mine_, meaning that _I_, and _only_ I get to experience how talented he is. Which I will _definitely_ be doing tonight, in my new outfit. So you can just shut up, and go home to your many cats you lonely hag." She said, standing straight once more, her glare remaining in place.

She started to get up but was slammed back down into the dirt, Natsumi's foot stepping down on Taka's throat. "Now, if I ever see you staring at my brother or my husband _ever_ again, you will die a slow and painful death. Minako may not be as vicious as I am, but she will make sure you suffer tenfold."

"And Natsumi-chan can keep you alive just long enough for me to torture you slowly and thoroughly." Minako threatened, an evil glint entering her eyes.

"Y-yes, I understand." The brunette stuttered, more scared for her life then she ever had been.

Toshiro stared at the two, his gaze falling on his demanding wife. "Why are women so attractive when they are threatening people?" he asked Akito, nudging him a bit but never taking his eyes off Minako. He would definitely be making her scream tonight.

"I don't know, but I love it when she gets forceful. I'll have to show her my appreciation tonight, so prepare yourself, because I'm going to make her scream again." Akito warned his friend, staring lustfully at his wife.

"You'll have some competition then." he smirked, finally glancing at the Uchiha. "I do know how to please my woman. And I think I'll try some new things tonight and see what happens."

"We'll see just who can make his wife scream louder." Akito answered with a smirk of his own.

He held his hand out to Akito, who took it with a solid grip. "You're on. Winner gets a night alone without any of the family. Deal?"

"Deal. And the loser has to watch the kids." He answered, shaking his friend's hand.

"Haha. Alright."

Natsumi bent down and grabbed hold of Taka's collar, dragging her off and tossing her into the street. "Now GO AWAY!" she yelled, glaring after her. She walked back and dusted her hands off, giving Minako a high five. "Well now that that's over and done with is everyone ready to start playing again?"

Gaara scoffed, "I've been ready."

"Good, because it's about time you lost." Sasuke stated, walking out onto the field with the ball. Everyone else on his team followed shortly after and got into position.

The redhead glared and followed shortly, the rest of his family taking their place on the field. Natsumi stretched and locked gazes with Minako. "Sorry Minako, truce is over. I'm ready to win and go home and make sweet, sweet love to Akito."

"Oh I understand Natsumi-chan trust me. I'm just as eager as you are." The ebony haired girl said, giving Toshiro an appreciative look. Then she turned back to her friend, her byakugan activated.

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes at them. He didn't understand how their lives seemed to revolve solely around sex, but whatever. He set the ball down and reactivated his sharingan. Instead of kicking the ball to the other side of the field he sent it towards his son, who ran off with it towards the goal. As Toshiro moved to block it he was knocked over by about fifty shadow clones Naruto had created, since he finally decided to participate in the cheating as well.

Smirking, Akito ran past his friend with the ball, seeing the goal get closer. Satomi was running at him then, and he could see her fist rising to hit either the ground or him. He kicked the ball up into the air, and in the second she glanced up to watch it, he kicked her in the side, causing her to fly a bit and hit the ground with a grunt. He quickly ran past her in a burst of speed and kicked the ball hard, sending it straight in.

"Yeah baby!" Natsumi cheered, running to meet him. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him deeply. "Have I told you how amazing you are today? Cause' it might be overdue." She snickered.

"You haven't, but its okay, since I got to watch you beat up Taka." He replied with a smirk, pulling her down for another kiss.

She gave him what he wanted and deepened their kiss. "Mmm, so you liked that huh? Cause' if it turns you on, I have a couple others I want to kill for looking at what belongs to me and only goes into me."

He smiled at her then. "Honey, if we were allowed to do that over half the male population here would have died a long time ago. Besides, they only get to imagine, while you get to see, and touch, and feel." He said, pressing her pelvis against his for emphasis.

She bit down a moan, already wanting to take him home and do bad, bad, mischievous things to him. "You're making me struggle baby." She whined softly, letting her fingers play with the hair on the back of his neck.

"Sorry." He said, kissing her neck. "Sometimes I just can't control myself around you." He answered, nibbling on her ear.

"Likewise," she whispered lustfully, pressing herself against him even more.

"Alright. Any time you two want to stop is fine with me." Satomi hissed, glaring at her sister and her _brother_-in-law. "You guys are disgusting." She grumbled, walking back to her place as Natsumi blushed and looked around at all the eyes.

"Whoops." She laughed and got down, slowly pulling away from Akito, but not without one final kiss.

Sakura sighed and looked up at the sun. "Okay, let's just make things interesting since it's getting kind of late and say next goal wins?"

"Fine with me." Natsumi smiled, looking back at the rest of the Konoha shinobi. They agreed reluctantly, obviously since they were ahead, the game would continue until they were tied once more and then it would be game point.

Gaara dropped the ball down and hit it over to Toshiro, who then kicked it to Minako. It seemed they were trying to shift it and confuse them. Of course with the sharingan that was a silly mistake. Minako kicked the ball back over towards Gaara, who was knocked out of the way by Sasuke. The elder Uchiha then sent it flying back to Neji, who proceeded to bring the ball towards the opposite goal. When Shikamaru and Ami boxed him in however, he passed it to Akito, who raced towards the goal.

He smirked, thinking about how he was going to torture Natsumi once he scored the winning goal and took her home to bed.

Someone slid beneath him, knocking him right off his feet and onto his back. He couldn't comprehend it happening and that was how he knew who had done it. Natsumi stole the ball and flipped up, passing to herself across the field and then nailing it into the open goal once her sand had slammed Satomi into the post.

"HAHA!" she yelled victoriously, Hayate was clapping loudly.

"Yay Mommy!" he cheered from Hinata's lap.

Natsumi twirled around happily, just thinking of how much fun she would have dominating Akito tonight. "Yes! Victory is MINE!"

Akito stood and glared at his wife, dusting the dirt from his back. "What the heck was that for? I would have made the goal." He said.

"Exactly." She pointed out with a huge smirk. "So now, _I_ get to be on top tonight." She set her hands on her hips and let out a sigh. "Ah yeah, it's going to feel good."

Everyone else just stared in shock from what happened and then for the reason. What the heck was wrong with them?!

"Ch. Perhaps, but we never agreed you would get to be on top the whole time, or that you got to control the pace." He said with a smirk, crossing his arms.

Her face fell as she thought about the details. Crap. She cursed in her head. "Damnit!" she yelled, grabbing her hair and giving it a tight pull. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"That's my boy." Sasuke complimented, walking off the field and towards his home. Now that they had won he wanted to be away from all the freaks.

Akito smiled at what his father said and walked up to Natsumi. "Don't worry though, it will still be just as pleasurable. I promise." He said, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her to him.

She tried to resist him by placing her hands between them and holding him off the best she could. But their hips pressed together and she could feel his need. She bit down on her lip and tried not to show how much she looked forward to his torture.

"YES!" the triplets laughed and got up, high fiving one another. They ran over to Ami and stuck their tongues out. "See our parents are better. Uchiha are the best." Kanamé smirked.

"Always." Noriaki added.

Ami rolled her eyes at her cousins. "Your parents may be better at soccer, but I could beat you. I'm on a genin team while you are still in the Academy. And we get taught advanced things in Suna, so you pip-squeaks wouldn't stand a chance against me. Or Ayame for that matter." She said, crossing her arms.

Minako groaned and laid her head on Toshiro's arm. "And here I thought the competition was over." She said, giving him a tired smile. She really just wanted to go back to the Uchiha house and shower.

Sanosuke huffed and got up, crossing his arms. "You forget that my mother is from Suna and is still the most elite assassin in the ninja world. Plus my grandfather is Uchiha Sasuke, and my father never lets us just get taught from the academy. So you can just run on back home to your desert and hide in your sand. Oh wait, you didn't even inherit that trait from your father, unlike _all_ the Uchiha children. So you're even more useless than a whimpering baby, still wet behind the ears." He gave his cousin a bored look then and walked over to his mom and dad. "I want to go home and I'm hungry Mommy."

Natsumi smiled and took her Sanosuke's hand. "Okay sweetheart, what do you want for dinner?"

"Whatever you feel like making. I like all of your cooking," he said with a shrug.

"That's because mommy is the bestest cook in the whole wide world! And after her is daddy!" Hayate declared, running up and stopping next to his older brother.

"That's right!" she said happily, picking up her youngest and walking with Sanosuke. "Let's go and see what we can cook up huh? Then we'll have a nice dinner and then off to bed. You'll get to play with your cousins all day tomorrow, and no training!"

Sanosuke sighed. It didn't matter what his mom said, he would train anyways. It was what he liked to do, and he didn't particularly like hanging out with his cousins, especially since they were girls.

"Do you want help making dinner Natsumi-chan?" Minako asked, walking up with Toshiro and Ayame.

"That's alright Minako, you can relax and do as you please. I have my two best little helpers right here." She said, looking down at her two sons.

"Yay!" Hayate yelled, clapping excitedly. He loved helping his mother cook.

"Yeah…yay." Sanosuke said, not as excited as his little brother. It wasn't that he couldn't help out and cook, he just preferred not to. He liked sitting at the table with his grandfather and waiting for it to be served to him, but he did like spending time with his mom.

The family went home then, each going to their respected houses. While Natsumi and the two youngest made dinner, Akito took a shower and reviewed the triplets on what they had learned by observing the soccer game that day. Minako left Toshiro with Ayame while she and Ami went to their rooms and showered. And Sakura dragged Gaara off to make waffles, wanting to fully relax after their day of extreme sports.

Hayate ran back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, setting the table for his massive family. Natsumi started to bring out the food and set it down, when she noticed her son's glum mood. She knelt down next to him and cupped his cheeks with her hands. "What's wrong my little Sanosuke?"

"Can I train just a little bit tomorrow Mommy? Please?" he asked in a semi-whine, looking up at her with large forest green eyes. "I want to practice some of the sand moves that I saw grandpa and Uncle Toshi use today." He said, hoping that she wouldn't get mad at him.

She blinked and stared at him for a while. His nerves finally calmed when he saw her beautiful smile. "Of course you can my little sweetness," she said, nuzzling his face with hers. She loved showing her children how much she loved them, since it was how her mother and father had treated her, and she was able to bring Akito all the love he needed. "So thoughtful of you to watch them with your sharingan, very sneaky." She smirked, kissing his cheek and blowing bubbles on it.

He laughed and tried to push her away from him. "Mom! Stop!" he said, smiling his father's smile. He continued to smile when she pulled away. Then he leaned towards his mother and cupped his hand next to his mouth, indicating that he was going to tell her a secret. She leaned forward a bit, wondering what her son was going to say.

"You know, I think I can come up with a way to make fighting with the sand better and more effective. But I might need your help once I work a few things out tomorrow." He said, giving her a secretive smile. Of all the children, Sanosuke had a knack for improving things when he saw fit, and making them better.

She gave him a thoughtful look and nodded, "Of course my love. You know I would love to. You know mommy developed her own technique for sand unlike anything grandpa and Toshi can do." She told him with a smile, leaning in for another kiss attack.

He skillfully avoided her this time, smiling as he did so. "That's why you're way cooler than Uncle Toshi." He said, deciding to try and get his mother back by blowing bubbles on her cheek.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Sanosuke and hugged him, keeping him with her so he couldn't escape. "Oh my little love, you know just how to make your mommy happy." She snuggled with him. Hayate ran in and saw the sight and ran towards them, hugging his mother and his brother.

"I want love too!" he said happily.

Hearing this Akito walked into the kitchen, hair still damp from his shower. When he saw his family he smiled and placed his hands on his hips. "I know you're saving some of that love for me right?" he asked, raising a brow.

Hayate broke away from his mother and ran at his dad. "I'll give you love Daddy!" he declared, being scooped up into Akito's arms.

"Thanks buddy, I knew I could count on you." He said, ruffling his miniature's hair and causing him to laugh happily. He was glad that his kids could actually act like kids, instead of having to grow up at an early age the way he did. Then he leaned down and kissed his wife. "Dinner smells great honey." He said, looking at the feast that had been laid out on the table.

She stood up, kissing him back with a smile. "Mmm, thank you." She kissed him once more and then glanced down at Sanosuke. "So our little over achiever here was watching with his sharingan how my dad and Toshiro use their sand. You wouldn't happen to know about that would you?" she asked, setting her hands on her hips but giving her son a smile to show him she really wasn't mad at him.

"It's possible. But you seemed okay with it, and the triplets were doing the same thing. I'm sure Hayate here would have done the same if he had his sharingan yet. Isn't that right buddy?" he asked, looking at his son.

"Of course Daddy. Because it would make you and mommy happy if I took the initiative just like my big brothers and sister." He said.

Natsumi blinked and stared at her youngest. "Oh my little baby boy is growing up to be so smart." She ruffled his hair, sliding her hand to his cheek. "Just like your daddy."

Hayate scrunched his brow and gave her a confused look. "You're smart too Mommy." He said, patting her cheek tenderly.

"He's right dear, you are." Akito said, kissing his wife on the cheek.

She looked up at him and pulled away, not wanting to get into a squabble about her sudden thought. She was starting to feel darker. She wanted him to be like Akito, not her. It was one of those few moments when she thought she was a terrible person, something she learned she inherited from her father. All her siblings had had these feelings before, and still did. Her dad had said it was just essence of the demon, but sometimes…she snapped out of it when Hayate's worried voice cried out to her.

"Mommy!" he sniffed, tears filling his beautiful green eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetie, what?"

Sanosuke didn't look very comfortable either. "You had a really hated look on your face."

Akito stroked her cheek tenderly and searched her eyes. "Are you alright Natsumi?" he asked, knowing that every once in a while she had psychotic moments.

"I'm fine." she shook her head, giving her boys a smile to show they didn't need to worry.

Akito kissed her then and looked off towards the living room. He set Hayate down and looked at his boys. "Hey guys, why don't you go let everyone else know that dinner is ready. And when you get to your grandparent's room make sure you knock first before entering." He ordered, watching his sons leave the dining room. He turned back to Natsumi. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, pulling her to him in an attempt to comfort her.

She couldn't stop the flow of tears that spilled from her eyes. "I don't want them to be like me. In any way." she admitted. "I want them to be like you. And I have this terrible feeling and I don't know why, I'm afraid for my babies, but I haven't had a premonition…so…" she collapsed into his embrace and cried into his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and began to rub her back. "Hey, hey, it's going to be okay. You're not the only one with psychotic tendencies you know. The kids are going to be fine, everything's going to be fine." He said, running his fingers through her hair.

"I'm scared." She whispered. "I don't want to freak out and hurt them on accident."

His eyes shut then, a painful look coming to his face. Then he took a deep breath and opened them, pulling back so that she could see his eyes. "Listen to me. You would never, _ever_, hurt our children. Do you understand me? You are the best mother in the entire world, and the kids adore you. I adore you, and I have enough faith in you to believe that if you ever do begin to freak out, you'll be able to do it without hurting them."

"What if I can't?" she asked seriously, pressing her lips tightly together and trying to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes once more. "When Sanosuke was born and I kept having premonitions, I used to have these horrible dreams where I would be holding him and then I had a vision. Then I would drop him and hurt my baby."

He wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumbs and resumed running his fingers through her hair. "But you never once dropped him, or Hayate. Natsumi, they're just dreams. I know you take a lot of stock in them because of your parents, but you're different, we're different. I'm sure your mom must have had terrible dreams that never came true. Just ask her, okay? Since she's the one with more of the dream stuff than your dad." He said, stroking her cheek tenderly.

She nodded slowly, trying to take in his advice. But she became very skeptical when she was like this. She gripped onto his shirt and pressed herself against him once more. "I love you," she said softly, shutting her eyes and just trying to breathe evenly.

"I love you too." he said, kissing the top of her head. He brought his arms down and rubbed her back some more, resting his head on hers as he did so.

She relaxed somewhat and after a while she slowly pulled away, taking his hands with hers. "I think I'm going to lie down. Start dinner without me. I'm not that hungry." she smiled, wanting to reassure him. She leaned forward and kissed him sweetly before leaving and disappearing down the hall. Akito watched her with a sigh, and decided to finish setting up dinner before everyone else arrived.

Hayate ran in about a minute later, followed by the rest of the family. Then Sanosuke entered from a different doorway with Sasuke, since he went over to his grandfather's house to get him. "Where's mommy?" Hayate asked, looking around the dining room. His question caused some of the others to do the same.

"Mommy is resting because she isn't feeling very well right now." Akito answered, uncovering the last dish that Natsumi had made. "But she wants us to go ahead and eat dinner without her, so you guys can begin to eat." He told them, serving his youngest some food.

Gaara watched his son-in-law suspiciously, glancing back down the hallway towards the master bedroom of the house. He leaned down and whispered into his wife's ear. "You might want to check on her later."

"Of course dear." She replied, following her husband's gaze.

Dinner was fairly quiet, since all of the Uchiha children were silent with their mother's absence. Once everyone had finished eating Temari and Shikamaru retired early and the others went off to their homes. Akito started collecting the dishes as Gaara, Toshiro, and Minako went into the living room and sat comfortably.

The triplets said their good nights and headed off to bed. Hayate stayed in his seat and tried to help his father with the cleaning, as Sanosuke walked his grandfather home like he normally did.

Sakura made her way down the hall and stopped outside her daughter's room. She knocked lightly. "Sweetheart? It's your mom, may I come in?" she asked through the door.

Natsumi didn't reply, knowing her mother would come in anyways to make sure she was alright. When she didn't get a response Sakura opened the door slowly and stuck her head in. Seeing her daughter laying on her side in her bed the elder woman shut the door and walked over to it. She sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked Natsumi's head. "Is everything alright dear?' she asked softly.

"I feel like I'm going to hurt my children." She stated darkly.

Sadness entered Sakura's eyes then. "Have you had a premonition?" she asked hesitantly.

She didn't say anything, but slowly opened her eyes and stared at the wall. "No…I didn't. But I have a bad feeling. I can't shake it, I feel like their pain is my fault."

"Honey, the kids are fine. You could never cause them any pain. But…you can't protect your children from everything. Sometimes…they will be hurt, and the only thing you can do is be there for them." Sakura told her daughter, her eyes clouding with past memories of when her son died, and when her daughters were kidnapped. She didn't want Natsumi to be disillusioned and think that she would always be able to protect her kids. Because sometimes you just weren't enough to shield the pain from them.

She slowly sat up and stared at her mother. "But they're my babies…I don't want them to hurt." She choked back a sob, feeling her tears fill her eyes.

Sakura gave Natsumi a tender look. "Do you think I wanted you and your sister to hurt when you got kidnapped? When you're a mother you want the best for your kids. But sometimes bad things happen. And when they do, all you can do is make sure that you do whatever it takes to help your children. That's all your father and I could do." She advised, wiping a tear that fell off of her daughter's cheek.

She nodded slowly. But if anyone ever tried to hurt her family, she would kill them, without even a second thought. She grabbed her mother's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Mommy will you go get Hayate? I want to make sure he's okay. I know he was upset when I wasn't at dinner. He's probably trying to help Akito clean, that sweet little boy." She laughed softly, wanting her youngest in her arms so she could tell him how much she loved him.

"Of course dear. He really is such a sweetie. I think he's my favorite." Sakura said with a smile, rising from the bed and leaving to get her grandson.

Hayate ran in seconds later with his arms out stretched. "Mommy!" he said, jumping up onto the bed and giving her a fierce hug. "Are you feeling better Mommy?" he asked, looking up at her.

She could do nothing but smile brightly at her sweet little boy. "Yes, mommy is much better now that my small love has come to see me. Was dinner good? Did you behave for daddy?" she asked, poking his nose and making him giggle.

"I always behave for daddy, cause' I know it makes you happy." He said with a smile. Then it turned into a light frown. "But it wasn't as much fun without you. Everyone is so quiet when they eat. People barely spoke. I mean, I know daddy and grandfather and grandpa are like that all the time, but still. Only grandma and Aunt Mina spoke really. And our cousins are just weird." He said, scrunching his face in displeasure.

"My love, that is because your mommy is the center of the universe." She said happily, pulling him closer and letting him sit in her lap. She nuzzled him sweetly and kissed him repeatedly. "Isn't that right?"

"Uh huh." He giggled, snuggling closer to his mother. Then he quieted down. "…Mommy? When I fall in love someday, is it okay if she becomes the center of my universe?" he asked, not wanting to upset his mother.

Natsumi blinked and stared down at him. She leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Of course my sweet, but only if she's better than mommy. Okay?" she nuzzled him lovingly. "I love you Hayate, I promise I will always protect you. And I will always be there for you."

"I know." He sighed, resting his head on his mother's shoulder. Then he let out a huge yawn.

Seeing her son's tired face she kissed his forehead and pat his cheeks. "Alright little one, why don't you go get daddy and tell him mommy needs his love to feel completely better. And make sure he tucks you in and says goodnight to your brothers and sister." She poked his nose and kissed him again, making sure he was showered in her love.

"Yes ma'am." He said, kissing his mother on the cheek before climbing out of the bed and running out of the room.

"Daddy! Mommy said she needs your love after you tuck us into bed!" Hayate yelled, running into the kitchen. Akito put away the last of the leftovers and turned to his son.

"Did she now?" he asked, picking him up. "Well then I should hurry, shouldn't I?"

Hayate nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. You know mommy isn't the most patient when she wants something." He said wisely.

It didn't take Akito long to put the kids to bed, since they were tired from being outside all day. When he finished he walked back into the living room where his relatives were. He looked at Toshiro and raised a brow. "Ready to lose the competition?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"What competition?" Minako asked, looking between the two in confusion.

"Hah!" Toshiro smirked and crossed his arms in challenge. "I've been looking forward to this all day."

Gaara sighed and shook his head, walking off to go to bed with his own wife. "I'll judge for you two, since unfortunately my room is between both yours." And with that he was gone down the hall.

"What competition?!" Minako asked once more, setting her hands on her hips.

Toshiro sighed and looked over at his wife. "Baby, just go put on your outfit."

"Okay." She said, instantly perking up. She kissed her husband before walking back towards their room. "Don't take too long." She called over her shoulder, giving him a sultry smile.

Akito looked back at his friend once Minako had disappeared and smirked. "You're still going to lose. You aren't the only one who has some new things they can try out." He said.

The redhead laughed and started after his wife, "We'll try not to out do you _too_ badly." He said with confidence, walking down the hall with Akito on his tail. "Good luck buddy." He said, going into his room and locking the door behind him.

Akito entered his own room and shut the door, locking it as well. He pulled off his shirt as he walked over to the bed and sat down on it. "How are you feeling?" he asked, putting his hand on Natsumi's thigh and rubbing it comfortingly. Her emotional needs would come before his physical ones. Always.

She gave him a small smile and leaned against him, "Better. Sorry I freaked out earlier." She said quietly, curling into his lap and clinging to him tightly. She loved how secure he made her feel.

He brought his hand up and ran his fingers through her hair. "It's alright. As long as you're okay." He said, kissing her softly.

"I am now," she said kissing him back deeply. She pulled away and looked up at him, placing her hand on his cheek. "I got to snuggle with my little Hayate and now you're here. Everything I could possibly want." She kissed him once more and smiled. "I would say let's just go to bed…but…" then her kind look turned devious. "I got the winning goal today…which means…" in a quick move she had him pinned to their bed, straddling his waist. "I get to be on top."

He smirked up at her, remaining complacent. "For now. It just depends on how long you can please your master." He said, rolling his hips slightly.

She held in a soft moan from the feel of him, but held her finger to his lips. "Oh no, tonight," she laughed darkly. "You will be pleasing your mistress." She leaned down and held his chin with one of her hands. "I am the center of your universe and you need to show your mistress just how big that universe is."

"As you wish." He said, lifting his head and kissing her passionately.

She giggled, kissing him back and rushing towards his pant line, quickly removing all his clothes as they began their torturous love making. Yet, she was unaware of just how hard her husband was going to give it to her. But of course, who would complain about that? The rest of the night was filled with screams from either side of the house, but most went unheard by the frantic Uchiha couple.


	19. Date With a Side of Disaster

**Tempest**

_Epilogue_

-Date with a Side of Disaster-

Natsumi walked down the hallway, holding two fairly large cups of herbal tea. It was early and all the children were still asleep. She had on a black long sleeved shirt that was obviously Akito's, seeing as the sleeves covered her fingers and her short black shorts. She came back into her room and sat back in bed, handing her husband one of the cups. "Here you go baby." she smiled, giving him a sweet kiss as well. She snuggled back under their silk sheets and took a sip of her own.

"Thank you." He replied, blowing on the hot liquid before taking a sip. As he set his cup down in his lap he looked over at her. "So…how did you sleep last night?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"The amount of time I _was_ asleep it was great." She said, snickering. "I always sleep well after we have one of our crazy nights." She poked his arm then. "So what was the occasion, just cause'?" she arched her brow.

Just then the door burst open and Toshiro ran in, dragging Gaara behind him. "Alright dad! Who won?! Who won?!" the younger redhead asked, shaking his father. Gaara twitched and shoved Toshiro away, dusting himself off.

"Won what?" Natsumi blinked, looking between the three.

"Freak." Gaara grumbled and then stood straight. He cleared his throat and then pointed at Akito. "He won. I could barely even hear Minako over Natsumi. Now leave me alone." He eyed them both, walking out.

The pink haired woman glared at her brother and then Akito. "What the heck is going on?!"

Akito just smiled victoriously and rubbed her leg beneath the blankets. "What's going on is that you and I have a date today while Toshiro and Minako watch the kids. Isn't that right Toshiro?" he asked his friend, raising a mocking brow.

The Kazekage huffed and crossed his arms angrily. "Yes."

"A date?" she looked over at him and smiled. "We haven't gotten to go on a date in forever." She laced her hands together and sighed happily. "Though…" she looked over at her brother, "Are you sure it's okay? Handling five is a lot tougher than two."

"Who cares? He'll have Minako with him anyways. And the kids know better than to misbehave when we're gone, they're too scared of what we'll do to them if they disobey." Akito said, smiling at her.

She shrugged, but couldn't get the nagging feeling to leave her mind. But she really wanted to spend time with her husband, alone, and not on a mission. "It does sound nice," she looked back at Toshiro and smiled. "Okay. Just make sure you watch Hayate closely, he's so curious and sometimes he goes off on his own."

The redhead nodded, "Alright. I'll make sure I don't leave them at all. But I do have to go and talk to Shuhei later. So Minako will just be with them for an hour or so."

"Excellent. Now get out of our room so I can show Natsumi my appreciation for her screams before the kids get up." Akito said, smirking at his wife.

She blushed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Yeah Toshiro, out." She shooed him. He shivered and left the room quickly, heading down the hall. He didn't need to hear his sister and his best friend with their sounds.

He walked into the living room and saw Sanosuke pulling on his shoes. "Hey where are you going?"

"I always go over to grandfather's in the morning." He scoffed, as if his uncle should know his schedule.

"Oh, well I guess that's okay. I'm supposed to watch you today cause' your mom and dad are going to be gone."

At this the Sasuke replica looked up at the redhead. "Really? They never leave." He said, more to himself. This was good, now he could go through with his master plan. He got up then and left the house.

Minako entered the room then and kissed her husband on the cheek. "I'll be back later Shiro-kun, I have to attend some clan thing with my mother for a while." She said, making a face of displeasure at the thought of her boring day.

He sighed, that meant he had to watch all the kids by himself. "Alright. But try and hurry back. I have a meeting with Shuhei later and we're watching all the kids. Akito is taking Natsumi on a date. I don't know where my dad went. My mom and Satomi I think are heading to the hospital to see Grandma Tsunade. So it'll just be me and you."

"I will, don't worry." She said as she walked out the door.

"Morning Daddy." Ami said, walking into the room.

"Hello Ami, good morning. How did you sleep last night?" he asked, setting his hand on her head.

"Eh, I slept okay. I don't like the weather here though, it's too humid." Her face scrunched in displeasure.

He nodded. "I know, I know. But that's just because Suna is better. Now why don't you go get your cousins and your sister up and we'll have breakfast. Aunt Sumi and Uncle Akito are going to be out today so we're going to have a lot of fun with just us, okay?"

"Alright." She said, walking back down the hall.

* * *

Sanosuke entered his grandfather's house and went into the kitchen, beginning to prepare breakfast, since his mother wasn't up yet and making breakfast over at their house. Although, the only thing he could make was scrambled eggs and toast.

After a while Sasuke entered wordlessly and began to help his grandson by setting the table and filling two glasses with orange juice. Once breakfast was done the elder Uchiha filled the plates with food, since the large pan was too heavy for Sanosuke to carry just yet. They sat down and began to eat wordlessly. About halfway through the meal Sanosuke sighed and set his fork down.

Raising a brow, Sasuke paused in his eating, wondering what the young boy wanted to talk about.

"Grandfather? Do you think…instead of training with you today I could train with Grandpa? I want to learn how to use the sand better, since I think I've come up with a way to use it more efficiently." He said, giving his elder an unsure look.

Sasuke almost smiled to himself. "Of course you may. But you will need to ask Gaara first, don't you think?" he asked, raising a brow.

Slight apprehension entered his dark green eyes. What if the elder redhead said no? "I will ask him…later. After breakfast sometime." He said evasively. Then he resumed his eating.

Sasuke did the same, smirking a bit. His grandson knew not to appear scared or indecisive, but he still wasn't good at completely covering it up. That would fade with age though. When they finished and did the dishes, Sasuke took his grandson to go find Gaara. He was off training in an abandoned lot in the Uchiha Compound.

"Gaara, Sanosuke has something he wants to ask you." Sasuke said by way of greeting. At this the younger Uchiha's eyes widened slightly in alarm. How could his grandfather betray him so?! But then he realized that if he hadn't put him on the spot, he never would have gotten the courage to ask for help.

The redhead stopped what he was doing. The sand that was around him slowly slid back to him, replacing itself in his gourd. He looked back at the two Uchihas and then down at the younger. "Well?" he crossed his arms, waiting. Like the elder Uchiha, he wasn't one for procrastination.

"Will you…teach me how to use my sand?" he asked, trying to sound brave.

"He thinks he found a way to use it more efficiently." Sasuke said, trying to help his grandson out. He wasn't completely heartless after all.

Gaara walked towards them, crossing his arms and then kneeled down in front of Sanosuke. "And how exactly do you think you could use it more efficiently? I'm sure you've never actually seen your mother fight. So…I wonder if it's different."

He crossed his arms. "I've seen her and Aunt Yuki train together, that should be enough for the basics. And it is different. If I work everything out properly, I might be able to mix the sand with highly absorbent soil, and separate them when it becomes too wet. That way I will still be able to still use it when in a moist climate. As for how to fight with it…I'm not entirely sure, since I only know what I saw yesterday and haven't practiced. But I'm sure I'll come up with something." He said with a shrug.

"Well I can teach you the basics for now. Something like that you will have to sharpen on your own. You know, I never saw your mom fight until she was thirteen. After you solidify your skills you should ask her to work with you. But I can teach you how to mix the sand with minerals, I'm sure it's similar…in a way." He said, hoping his daughter wouldn't murder him for teaching Sanosuke how to use their bloodline.

"Thank you Grandpa!" he said happily, hugging the redhead's legs and allowing the small part of his mother to show.

Sasuke just sighed. "I'm going to go find Naruto. I haven't pummeled him yet today." He said, leaving the two to their sand training.

* * *

Natsumi walked to the front door, brushing off her dress. It was a simple white sun dress with a halter top that cut straight across. It was tight on top and then loosened, stopping just above her knees. She slipped on her matching flip flops and sighed, "Are you sure Toshiro?" she fumbled with her fingers, looking into the living room where the triplets were playing with Ami and Ayame.

"Yes Natsumi. They will be fine. I promise that I will watch them like a hawk." He said, setting his hands on her shoulders. "Just relax."

"Mommy just go have fun with daddy! Uncle Toshi knows if he does a bad job you and daddy will kill him! " Hayate said happily, skipping around his mother's legs.

She looked down and smiled, picking up her small boy. "Oh my sweet little love, are you sure? Because I can stay home." She kissed his cheek and snuggled with him.

"It's okay." He said, hugging her around the neck. "You and daddy should go out and play instead of staying home with us. Cause' always playing at home can get boring after a while."

"Alright," she said a bit reluctantly, "if you're sure." She set him down and then the triplets ran in.

"Mommy! You look so pretty." Izayoi smiled.

The two boys nodded and then looked past her when their father came in, dressed in nice black pants and a black button up shirt. He had put extra effort into doing his hair and was even wearing nice shoes.

"She always looks pretty." He said, kissing his wife on the cheek.

Natsumi smiled at him, attaching to his arm and waving to all the kids. "Now…" her kind gaze turned into a vicious glare. "Be good. No setting the house on fire. And no trying to make Hayate fly. Noriaki." She turned her gaze to the middle triplet.

"That was _one_ time!" he huffed, crossing his arms and glaring off.

"No strangers in the house. Nothing purple in _my_ living room. I don't want you using _anything _sharp, and you listen to what Uncle Toshiro says. Cause' if you don't I will have to punish you. Understand?" she asked, arching her brow. They all nodded, except for Hayate who just smiled.

"I'm always good Mommy." He said happily.

She laughed and nodded, "I know you are sweetheart. Well," she looked up at Akito and held onto his arm more tightly. "You ready?"

"Of course. Let's go dear." He said, leading her from the house.

Once they were gone Hayate looked up at his uncle. "So what are we going to do today Uncle Toshi?" he asked.

"Um…" the redhead tapped his chin, looking around the house. "Well what do you want to play Hayate?" he asked.

He put his hand on his chin and looked up, concentrating. "Ummm…..oh I know!" he said, pointing his finger in the air. "Let's play Go Fish!" he declared excitedly.

"Alright!" Toshiro smiled, "You all go sit in the living room and I'll get the playing cards." He told them and then left, opening up one of the closets. He pulled out a deck that was sitting by some games and brought it back in, sitting in the circle the kids had made.

"I want to go first! Since I'm the oldest." Kanamé huffed, crossing his arms and giving them all a threatening look.

"Actually, I'm the oldest, so I get to go first." Ami said, smirking triumphantly at her younger cousin.

Kanamé shifted his jade gaze to his cousin. "But you're not an Uchiha, and Uchihas are the greatest. Therefore I am on a higher level than you."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. This was why she hated visiting her relatives. They always thought they were better than everyone else, just because of their last name.

"Can I go first? Since it was my idea and all." Hayate said, looking at his uncle with wide eyes.

"I think that'd be okay." Izayoi said happily.

Toshiro nodded and handed out the cards evenly so they could start playing.

* * *

Minako came back shortly after lunch, glad that the meeting hadn't lasted as long as they usually did. "Shiro-kun! I'm back!" she called, finding the living room empty.

Toshiro ran out from one of the rooms, latching onto his wife. "Oh thank God you're here!" he nuzzled her lovingly, that was when she noticed he had make-up on and looked more like a clown.

"I've had to deal with them for hours! I don't know how Natsumi does it! They're so arrogant! It's like…like…"

"Like Natsumi-chan and Akito-kun were one person times four?" Minako asked, arching a brow.

"YES! And it's _awful_!" he whined, holding more tightly onto her.

She pat his back in an attempt to comfort him. "It's okay Shiro-kun. Now let's get that make-up off you before your meeting with Shuhei. He won't ever let you live it down if he sees you this way." She said with a smile, leading him to the bathroom.

She wet a wash cloth and began to wipe the stuff off his face. "So what have the children been up to so far?" she asked.

"We played a few games, Sanosuke went to Sasuke's house to train or something. After a while the boys went and started doing something in the back room, but I haven't heard anything break so I'm sure they are fine." He began, thinking about his morning. It hadn't been too bad, but the Uchiha children would always make smart comebacks as to why they could do whatever they wanted. "Though, the triplets called Natsumi a princess and I asked why she wasn't the Queen and they all freaked out and went on this tirade explaining why. It was scary. Those poor children have been brainwashed!" he yelled shaking his fists in the air.

She laughed, done cleaning his face off. "Well, you know how Natsumi-chan is and how Akito-kun always does her every wish. Of course they believe that she is a princess. And it's obvious that she can't be the queen, because your mother is." She said, fully understanding why they had freaked out. Her husband was just so clueless sometimes.

He huffed and took the cloth, getting the rest off. "Whatever. I'm exhausted. I'll be back when I'm done though and make their dinner, so you don't have to worry about that. I made them lunch so they should be alright for a while." He set the towel down and headed out of the bathroom with Minako following.

He waved and kissed her before disappearing out the door. "Uncle Toshi!" Izayoi yelled, running out of her room and then stopping when she saw Minako. "Oh hi Aunt Mina, where's Uncle Toshi?"

"He had a meeting to go to with Shuhei, so I'm taking over while he's gone. Do you need help with anything dear?" she asked, smiling at her niece.

She gave her aunt a skeptical look and shook her head, "No that's okay." She said, before running off into the house.

"AAAHH!" someone yelled, suddenly Hayate ran around the corner screaming his lungs off as Noriaki chased after him with duct tape.

"Come on Hayate! Just stand still!" he huffed, trying to grab at his little brother.

Minako hastily picked up the youngest Uchiha and held him out of the reach of his brother. "Noriaki! What are you doing?!" she asked.

"He's disobeying mommy that's what!" Hayate yelled, pointing an accusing finger at his brother.

"I am not!" he glared. "She said not to try and make him fly! We we're just going to see if he could break out if he were bound with duct tape. It was a precaution in case he ever came into the situation!" he said crossing his arms and huffing.

"I highly doubt he will ever get into that situation." Minako said. "If you are so worried about it, discuss it with your parents when they get back. But until then, put the duct tape away." She told him.

Noriaki rolled his eyes and walked back down the hall. He really didn't like his aunt, she always took the fun out of everything. Minako sighed and went into the living room, sitting Hayate down in a chair. There was a loud explosion and Minako went wide eyed, running into the kitchen where she heard it. There was food everywhere, Ami and Kanamé were glaring off, fighting over a spatula.

"Give it here you irritating girl!" he yelled, jerking it back towards him.

"No!" she pulled back as well, both their eyes changed. Red against white.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Minako asked, looking between the two.

The two children looked over to see her and dropped the utensil instantly. "She did it!" Kanamé yelled.

"He did it!" Ami pointed.

The eldest Uchiha sibling growled and glared back at Ami, "She said she could make better cookies than I could. But that's impossible, because my mom taught me how to cook and she's the best!"

"No! My mommy is the best at making cookies!" Ami yelled, her glare increasing. Minako rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Why don't you both just make cookies at the same time and see whose are better?" she asked.

"We were _trying_ to do that. But stupid over here turned the oven on too high and let some of the batter fall out and then it all exploded!" Kanamé huffed, crossing his arms. "And my mom is the best at everything." He told his cousin. "She is the epitome of perfection and has graciously passed on all her beauty and brains to us. Not to mention my dad is like a thousand times better than Uncle Toshi."

"Yes well, neither of your parents are going to be happy if they come home to a dirty kitchen, so both of you need to clean yourselves off, and I'll clean up this mess." She said, walking over to the pantry and pulling out some cleaning products.

"Whatever. I hate it here." Ami said, stomping out of the kitchen.

"Well I hate you being here." Kanamé replied, following her out.

After a while, Ayame walked into the kitchen and looked at her mother. "Hey Momma. Can we go and pick some flowers? Ami and Kanamé said they promise to be nice to each other and Noriaki says he won't do anything to Hayate either."

Minako paused in her cleaning, just now moving on to the oven. "Alright dear, but be careful. Everyone needs to stay together as a group, and I want you all back before sundown. Understand?" she asked, raising a brow. They would be fine, since there were plenty of fields of flowers inside the village.

"Yes ma'am." She said, leaving the kitchen. She walked back out to her sister and her cousins, "She said it was okay."

"Awesome!" Ami clapped her hands together, tired of being cooped up in the house. They all headed out, Izayoi holding Hayate's hand so he wouldn't run off. "I saw this great flower field when we were coming in, it's just outside the village." She pointed as they came up to the gates of Konoha.

The triplets stopped and all had mirrored expressions. "Our mom told us never to leave the village by ourselves." Noriaki said, looking somewhat timid.

"Well, good thing we're not by ourselves then huh, there are six of us." Ami said obviously, continuing forward. That was a good enough answer for the Uchihas after all, it was exciting out in the forest. They continued out, sneaking past the guards so they wouldn't get in trouble. They walked awhile before coming to a beautiful field of flowers, there were butterflies everywhere and they all looked in awe.

"Wow! This _is_ pretty cool!" Noriaki said, running forward into the butterflies and trying to catch them. Hayate smiled brightly and chased after his brother, trying to mimic his actions. Kanamé crossed his arms and huffed, looking over at his elder cousin.

"I guess this is alright."

"What are you talking about Kanamé this is awesome!" Izayoi ran forward with Ayame and started to pick some flowers.

Ami just rolled her eyes at him. Then she found a boulder and sat on it, that way she could keep an eye on everyone better. It was her job as the oldest to watch them after all.

Kanamé crossed his arms and leaned against the rock. He would not let Ami show him up on who was better at being the eldest. Hayate ran towards the tree line, trying to catch a pink butterfly. "Look Nori, it's for mommy!" he smiled, moving further away.

"Hayate, don't go so far off." The boy called after his brother, chasing after to him to try and catch him. He sped forward, grabbing his brother's wrist and making him come to a stop. "You can't just run off like that Hayate, what if you fall and hurt your-" Noriaki tensed, his eyes twisting into a bloody red. He wrapped his arms around Hayate's waist and jerked him to the side as kunai flew out from the trees.

"Noriaki!" Izayoi yelled, running towards her brothers, her sharingan already activated.

"No!" he held his hand out and grabbed Hayate's hand once more, running back to the others. There was a sudden burst of laughter as at least ten men walked out from the tress.

"Look here men, we found some Uchiha brats." The assumed leader said, setting his hands on his hips.

"Four out of the five…nonetheless." Another smirked.

Noriaki slowed and pushed Hayate to Izayoi, who took him and held him closely. "Hayate, you know mommy said no running off." She swung her finger in front of his face. Kanamé and Noriaki stood in front of their family, getting into taijutsu poses.

"How cute, they're going to fight us." One of the ninja laughed, their headbands had the symbol for Mist.

Ami was next to her cousins then, pulling on gloves that had no fingertips so that she could use her strength and her gentle fist. "Ayame! Go get help!" she yelled to her younger sister, who nodded and disappeared in a swirl of sand. Her deep teal eyes turned back to the men. "I may not be an Uchiha, but I won't let you hurt my family." she said with conviction, activating her byakugan and sliding into the pose for the gentle fist. She was the only one there who was a ninja, and she would show how good she was. She knew that the triplets could fight, but Hayate would need protecting.

"Izayoi." Kanamé and Noriaki said together. "Protect Hayate."

She nodded, keeping him close now. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her and was crying out for his mother. Kanamé glanced at Ami and smirked. "Try not to get in the way." He said, before taking off towards the men, who ran at them as well.

* * *

There was a loud banging on the door to the Hokage' office. "DADDY!" Ayame screamed, bursting through the door when they didn't answer it. Toshiro was up in an instant, meeting his daughter in her run.

"What's wrong Ayame?" he asked, searching her tear filled eyes.

"A-Ami told me to ask momma if we could go pick flowers so we went outside the village and-"

"WHAT?!" he shouted glaring down at his daughter. "Stay here." He ordered, turning back to Shuhei. "Find Natsumi and Akito and tell them immediately." He said, before disappearing in a violent swirl of sand. He didn't need to hear the rest to know that his family was in danger.

* * *

Noriaki flew back, slamming into the boulder and hitting his head harshly. He cursed and coughed, seeing blood in his hand. His gaze shot up and he yelled, lifting his arms up in a defensive position. He had shut his eyes for the oncoming attack from the man, but when nothing happened he glanced up and saw that his sand shield had formed together. He could feel every grain almost as if the grains were a part of him. It felt amazing. He tried to focus his will and helped with the movement by using his hands. The sand wrapped around the man and started to crush him and his screams.

Izayoi used what taijutsu she knew to keep them away from Hayate. Another dashed towards them and hit her across the face, sending her into the flowers. The man walked up to Hayate, who was wide eyed now. "Come on little boy. You can be bait." He said, lifting his hand and hitting the small child across the face, easily bruising him.

Ami was there in an instant, punching the man who had hit her youngest cousin, sending him flying across the field. She turned to the now bawling Hayate and pressed her hand against his cheek, quickly healing the bruise. She didn't know much medical things yet, but bruises were easy and one of the first things she had learned how to heal. "Izayoi, are you alright?" she asked, earning a nod from her as she stood. Then she turned and looked around, watching the fight that ensued.

She ran at the man she had punched away and hit him with the Gentle Fist Sixty-Four Trigrams Palm, blocking all of his chakra points and sending him back down to the ground. Then she drew her fist back, sent chakra towards it, and punched his head into the dirt, crushing his skull.

"Ami! Look out!" Izayoi yelled, shoving her cousin aside just in time. She stared up at the man, locking eyes with him quickly before he could see his mistake. She sent him into a small genjutsu, halting his movements. Having seen Noriaki move the sand, she mimicked his movements and felt her own sand become dense around her. It was an odd tingling feeling. "Please work," she whispered, envisioning the sand particles pulling together into senbon. When she looked around and saw what she wished she thrust her hands forward and let them impale the man.

She trembled a bit, seeing all the blood, but steeled her nerves. She would not lose her courage now that she had some control over her birthright. Kanamé grabbed one of the men by the shirt and jerked him down, grasping his head and twisting it with a painful snap. He fell down, motionless, the life leaving his eyes instantly. He glanced up, only knowing there was someone there because of his sharingan. There were too many of them. They were just kids. "We're going to die…" he jumped back and shut his eyes tightly.

A few of the men made hand signs and water conjured in the air, forming into dragons and surging forward at the group. They all made attempts to guard themselves, but when nothing happened they glanced up, seeing an enormous wall of sand that was slowly falling apart due to the water.

Toshiro landed in front of them, letting his sand hit the ground. He got into a taijutsu pose and glared at the remaining foes. "You all will die." He told them, looking more like his father with his furious glare. He ran at them, pulling his fist back and slamming it into one's chest. They could hear the snap of bones. Dry sand spilled from Toshiro's gourd and spread out, forming what looked like vines and shot towards the men, driving right through their hearts like spears.

Ami wrapped her arms around Hayate and looked at her cousins. "We're fine now. My daddy's here." Then she covered the boy's eyes so that he wouldn't have to see the rest of them die.

* * *

Natsumi and Akito walked arm in arm out of one of the most prestigious restaurants in village. "That was absolutely delicious my love." She smiled, leaning closer to her husband. "You were right, this was a great idea. I'm so glad we got to spend some alone time together."

"Me too. I love the kids, but sometimes I just want to see my Princess." He said, nuzzling her neck affectionately.

She giggled and snuggled into his embrace. "And the princess just wants to be with her prince." Her whole body froze and she went wide eyed. "Oh my God." She looked around, wondering what was causing this sudden change. When she was certain it was nothing around her that was putting them in imminent danger she looked up at Akito. "Something is terribly wrong."

Before he could ask what, Shuhei was in front of them. "It's the kids. They've been attacked outside the village." He said quickly, not one for unnecessary detail when his family was in danger.

She felt as if everything went black. Her shocked face turned into a threatening glare and she ran forward, taking off with an intense speed, even though she was in a dress. Akito trailed after her, knowing she would pinpoint their children with their sand.

* * *

Toshiro roundhouse kicked one of the last men, sending him flying through more than five trees. He glared after him, knowing he was dead after the large oaks fell down and crushed his body. He turned around, seeing one left that was trying to get one more attack on the children. Suddenly Natsumi was beside him, her hands forming into fists. She slid to a stop right by his side. The look on his face was pure terror, the sand around her twisted into spikes and she thrust her hands forward. They surged towards him, piercing him in three different places. He struggled for a moment, trying to get more air. When he finally stopped moving, she released him. Her sand fell to the ground and he followed quickly, hitting the earth with a loud smack. She straightened up, the murderous look not leaving her face.

"Now Natsumi, let's not blow this out of proportion." Toshiro said, holding up his hands and shaking his head. The arrival of his sister was both a relief and completely terrorizing. She would not handle this well.

"DON'T BLOW THIS OUT OF PROPORTION?!" she shrieked, getting in his face. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?! WHAT THE HELL ARE MY BABIES DOING OUT HERE?!"

"Mommy!" Hayate yelled frantically, running over to her. He tripped along the way, landing in the dirt. He sat up and began to cry once more, holding his arms out to her.

Akito arrived then and quickly took in the scene, gaze hardening. He was going to kill every ninja in Mist if he had to in order to get them to leave his family alone. Knowing that his wife would pick up their youngest, he walked over to the triplets and Ami. Kneeling, he began to examine them, beginning with Kanamé. "Are you alright?" he asked, turning his son's head and looking for injury.

He nodded, letting his father evaluate him. He looked a bit frightened, but kept his gaze on the ground. He'd never actually seen any of his parents kill anyone before and he himself had never done so either. Natsumi, hearing her son's cries, was by him in an instant pulling him into her arms. "Oh my sweet Hayate are you okay?" she asked, looking down and searching him for injuries. She turned back to her brother and glared harshly.

"Hey now," Toshiro pointed at her with a glare of his own. "This isn't my fault. I left them with Minako when I went to my meeting. All of a sudden Ayame was pounding on the door and told me they were in trouble."

The look that came across his sister's face was not a good one. "Um, Natsumi." Toshiro gulped, now realizing he had just thrown Minako in the line of fire.

Natsumi turned around and walked to her husband, handing him Hayate. "Now dear, remember the Chuunin Exams and how upset you were. Just don't take it too far." Akito warned, knowing what that look meant.

"This is different. This time she dies. No one puts my babies in danger." She seethed, disappearing before any more could be said.

Toshiro scratched his head and sighed. "This is going to end badly isn't it?" he walked over to Ami and gave her a hard glare. "What were you thinking Ami? You _know_ not to leave the village. You pretty much just killed your mother."

She looked down in shame, tears coming to her eyes from the knowledge that she could have been responsible for the death of one of her cousins or her sister. "I know, I'm sorry." Then she looked back up at her father. "But mom didn't know we were gonna leave the village! Cause' I told Ayame not to tell her that part."

Akito scoffed. "Doesn't matter, she's still dead." He walked over to Toshiro and handed him Hayate. "Here. Take the kids to the hospital and have them checked out by your mother and Satomi. By the time that's done with _hopefully_ I'll have saved your wife's life." He said, disappearing then.

Toshiro sighed and looked at Hayate. "Hey little man," he smiled, making the small boy at least stop crying. "Come on guys, let's get you to the hospital and hope my sister doesn't murder Minako."

* * *

Minako sighed, tossing away the debris from the kitchen. She couldn't believe how destructive children could be sometimes. Once it was all in the garbage she dusted her hands off and turned back to go inside. She stopped and blinked, turning around just in time to see Natsumi's foot slam into her face. She fell to the ground, gasping and placing her hand to her now seriously bruised cheek. "Natsumi-chan?! What are you doing?!" she asked, getting up quickly and moving back as sand slammed into the ground where she had been.

Natsumi glared hatefully, moving after her, two of her fingers outstretched from the others and aiming for her vitals. "HOW DARE YOU PUT MY CHILDREN IN DANGER!" she screamed. Minako had her byakugan activated now, needing it to watch the sand around her so she wouldn't get trapped in its grains. Natsumi disappeared and smashed her foot into Minako's chest, sending her back and busting through the fence into the large backyard.

She stood quickly and dodged another attack. "What are you talking about?! They just went to go pick some flowers in one of the fields in the village!" she yelled.

The seething pink haired woman continued after her, slamming her digits into Minako's shoulder. She went wide eyed, not having felt this pain in a long time. Fiery ache erupted in her shoulder as her flesh began to destroy itself, slowly eating away. "Then _why_ did I just have to kill a Mist shinobi who was about to slaughter our children?! They were outside the village! At the same flower field where I was kidnapped!" she screamed in pure rage, hating the memories that came to mind now. She sped up somehow, pumping chakra into her legs and making her faster than ever before. She made three more jabs at Minako, only having two connect on her leg and on her hip. The Hyuuga managed to smack her hand away for the one aimed towards her other shoulder.

She wouldn't fuel her friend's aggression and fight back, but she would try and prevent as much damage being done to her as possible. Her eyes widened even more. "They left the village?! They didn't tell me they were going to leave the village! I was cleaning the kitchen from the explosion that happened earlier!" she exclaimed, flash stepping out of the way, just barely missing a jab aimed for her ribs.

"I'm sorry Natsumi-chan! I didn't know this was going to happen!" she said, trying to reason with her friend.

She spun around, setting her hands on the ground and kicking Minako once more. She staggered back and began to pant, already tired of this battering. Natsumi flipped back up and glared at her friend, "You're not sorry…not yet." She held up her hands and sand swarmed around the woman, tightening quickly before she could move out of the attack. Natsumi slowly raised her open hand, lifting the coffin that was now surrounding Minako and hardening.

"Natsumi, if you kill her you'll be taking away the mother of two young girls and the wife of your brother. Do you want to be the cause of their pain?" Akito asked, having just arrived.

Her gaze shifted from Minako to Akito, it was a look he had only seen twice before. The first being the Chuunin Exams, and the second when he had attempted to kill her brother. "She put my children in danger!" she shrieked, as if she were trying to convince him she was in the right. But deep down she knew she needed to stop, she just couldn't.

"They're my children too. Besides, it's obvious that she didn't mean to, since hers were in danger as well." He reasoned, crossing his arms.

Her mouth twitched and her hand closed a bit, causing Minako to yell out from the compression. She tore her gaze from Akito and looked back up at her sister-in-law. She let her hand fall and the sand quickly fell to the ground and snaked its way back to its mistress.

Minako landed on the ground and began to cough, the sections where Natsumi hit her were burning in pain as her inner organs were corroding. Akito walked over to his wife and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked, searching her eyes with his own.

She avoided his gaze, pressing her lips tightly together. "They were in the flower field from when I was seven." She stated, hoping that this would be enough information for him to know why she had gotten so outraged. "He's only six Akito, they could have taken him." She started to cry, finally letting her sadness and worry out.

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace. "It's okay. They didn't take him, because Toshiro got there in time. We should thank him later for saving our kids." He said, but in all honesty he was freaking out too. He hadn't been there to protect her when she'd been kidnapped, and he wasn't even able to be there for his kids now. He was weak, unreliable. Unconsciously his grip on her tightened as he grew angry with himself. If they had lost any of their kids, it would have been all his fault for not being there.

She wrapped her arms around him and gripped his shirt tightly. His presence was calming her and the fact that her brother had saved them began to set in. Toshiro had been there, like he always was for her. He hated to kill and he went immediately to protect her children. She looked over at Minako and sudden realization dawned on her. "Oh my God!" she pulled from her husband's grasp and kneeled beside her friend. "Minako I'm so sorry!" she placed her hands on two of the injured points. Slowly, the intense pain in her body began to die and was left feeling numb. Natsumi quickly healed the rest of her and bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry Minako."

Minako scooted closer to her friend and wrapped her arms around her in a reassuring hug. "It's okay Natsumi-chan. You had every right to be upset. Besides…I've lived through worse." She said, smiling slightly.

She nodded and hugged Minako back. She pulled away then and gave her a smile, getting up and helping her friend up as well. She walked back over to Akito and wrapped her arms around his waist, needing to be in his embrace. "My love," she whispered, taking in his scent and his wonderful feel.

He wrapped his arms around her once more and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent deeply. He would never have forgiven himself if something had happened to their children. He couldn't survive without his family. "I love you. So much." He said, kissing the top of her head.

She smiled and tightened her grip on him. "I know and I you my dearest." She felt content, knowing her family was safe and everything seemed fine now. She glanced over to Minako, who was smiling at them. "Minako, why don't you go make sure everyone is okay at the hospital. Akito and I will start dinner, so it'll be ready when you all get back."

"Alright Natsumi-chan." She said, before flash stepping off towards the hospital, intent on chewing out her daughters.

Akito looked down at his wife. "What do you want to make for dinner?" he asked, not really caring.

"Well we do have other people living at our house and my babies haven't eaten yet. Plus," she paused and looked up at him with a suggestive look. "We could always break out that apron I got you." She snickered, pinching his shirt and pulling at it slightly. "You know the one that says 'Kiss the Cook'?"

"Hell. No. I am not going to be seen wearing that thing. Not even for you." He said, shaking his head. "Why can't you wear it?"

"Because baby," she purred, giving him a pout. "I bought it for you. I think it looks cute and no one else would see." She said, smoothing her hands up his chest and slowly beginning to unbutton his shirt. "You never know what might happen."

He brought his hands down her sides and ran them up her thighs, going underneath her dress. "In that case…I guess I could wear it. But if someone sees you are going to be severely punished." He said with a smirk, gripping her butt.

Her breath hitched and she bit down on her lip, leaning into him. "It's a punishment I'm more than willing to accept." She mumbled, grabbing his wrists and pulling him into the house with her. "Come on! Let's hurry and start before they come back." She smiled brightly.

* * *

Toshiro walked into the Uchiha house, holding Hayate in his arms. The boy had taken a liking to his uncle since his smile was so similar to his mother's. The triplets ran back to their rooms, needing to get ready for dinner since they smelled it. And they wanted to talk to their mother about teaching them how to use their sand better.

Minako came in after him, with her daughters close behind, looking down, too afraid to speak for fear of their mother. Toshiro headed towards the kitchen, assuming Natsumi was in there preparing dinner, and he knew Hayate would want to see his mom. He walked in the door and went wide eyed, his sand shooting up and forming a large wall. "OH MY GOD!" he covered Hayate's eyes in hopes that the boy didn't see his parents.

Natsumi yelped and pressed herself against her husband's chest, having been situated on the counter, caught in a rather embarrassing act. Her face turned dark red as she looked to Akito who was still situated inside of her. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking Toshiro?!" she demanded, still trying to hide behind her Uchiha even though Toshiro was hiding behind his sand.

"It's the kitchen you freak! Good God!" he huffed.

Akito snorted. "So. We like to get creative now and then." He said, resuming his movements inside his wife. He wasn't the least embarrassed about what they were doing. His children knew better than to just waltz around the house without first checking to see if he and Natsumi were playing. "Now be a good uncle and take my son somewhere else while we finish playing." He said, leaning in and nibbling her neck.

She bit back a moan only because her son was on the other side of the door. She set her hands on his shoulders, panting harshly. "Yes Toshiro, take him to his room and tell him he can come out when we call for him." She could barely keep in her yell, but she sucked in a deep breath.

Toshiro rolled his eyes and walked off, closing the door behind him. Hayate laughed and pat his uncle's cheek. "Silly Uncle Toshi. I could have told you mommy and daddy were playing. We always have to knock when they are together in a closed room.

When she felt them leave she looked back at her husband. "I can't wait until they leave." She grumbled, finally letting out a satisfied moan. He moved a hand down to where they were joined and began to rub her clit as he increased his pace.

"They will leave soon, and then everything can go back to normal." He said, pulling back to watch her face.

Her pleasured expression turned into one of complete ecstasy. "Oh Akito!" she gripped his shirt tightly, arching her back and pressing her lower half further against him.

He brought his other hand up and gripped her breast, kneading it slowly. "You know what this means don't you? You will have to be punished later." He said with a devilish smirk that promised sinful things.

She looked at him with half closed eyes, a smile forming on her face. "If you didn't I'd just do something bad until you _did_ punish me." She said breathlessly, leaning forward and covering her lips with his as she kissed him.

He kissed her passionately while increasing the tempo of their love-making, his hand massaging her breast now as he quickened his strokes of her most sensitive area. "Hn." He said when they broke for air. "You know not what you ask for my dear. I have yet to truly punish you for misbehaving." He whispered in her ear huskily.

She thrust eagerly against him, "Master! Please forgive me for being so insubordinate, I'm at your mercy!" she let her hands move up, running through his hair dark locks. "Punish me my master. I've been bad!"

He slowed his pace then, until he was moving in and out of her leisurely. "You asked for it." He said, moving his hands back to her hips in order to control their pace.

She groaned, trying to rack her hips against his. "Baby, not now." She smiled, giving him a sultry look. "Our children need to eat. You'll have to punish me later." She said, a loud moan cutting her off as he surprised her with a hard thrust. She let one of her hands slide from his hair and run down his jaw.

She had a point, and he wasn't one to deny his offspring something they needed in order to get stronger. So he abruptly increased his thrusts until he was going as fast as their position would allow. "The faster you come, the sooner we can eat and the quicker your punishment arrives." He said into her ear, licking and biting it once he was done.

She smiled at his logic, wanting his torture more than anything. She sat her hands on the counter and forced herself into his thrusts, wanting nothing more than her Uchiha. It didn't take long for her release to come. He always was quick to satisfy her. She screamed out, trying to grip the granite, but her fingers slipped. He could feel her release and the ecstatic look that came to her face.

He covered her screams with his mouth as he released inside of her, hugging her body close to his. He always loved how eager she was for completion. He broke their kiss, panting slightly. "You're so beautiful when you scream in sexual satisfaction." He said, stroking her thigh with his thumb.

She huffed, but it sounded more like a pant. "I'm only beautiful because I'm so in love with you." She said simply, knowing it was true. She leaned against him, resting her chin on his shoulder. She was worn out from the day, but knew her stamina would come back when he wanted it later. "Okay, let me feed my babies." She smiled.

He pulled out of her and began to right his clothing. "Fine, but be ready for your coming punishment." He said with a smirk.

"I know, I know." She purred, fixing her dress. She hopped down from the counter and pulled on her underwear, which had been thrown on the floor. "Will you go get my little ones love? I'll set the table for everyone." Natsumi said whimsically, giving him a sweet kiss before taking the food into the dining room.

Shortly after the entire family entered and sat at the table. "It looks delicious Natsumi-chan." Minako complimented. Before she could say anything in thanks, Sanosuke ran into the room, followed by Gaara and Sasuke.

"Mom! I learned how to do the coolest thing with my sand today!" the boy announced, smiling excitedly. "Grandpa taught it to me."

She arched a delicate brow, staring down at her son and then up at her father. "Did you now?"

The redhead scoffed. "He came to me and asked me to help him. What was I supposed to do, say no?"

Natsumi frowned at him but then lowered down to her knees, giving her son a brilliant smile. "I would love to see my sweet Sano, but first you need to get some food in that belly of yours." She snickered, poking his tummy and giving his cheek a sloppy kiss. "When you finish you can show me just how amazing you are."

He nodded, and immediately began to shovel the food on his plate into his mouth. Everyone watched in awe, and a few moments later, looked up at his mother with a full mouth. "Done!" he mumbled.

She blinked and saw him run from the room in a mad dash. He poked his head back in, looking at his mother innocently. "Aren't you coming?" he asked. She stared at him and then let out a beautiful laugh, following him outside. Kanamé stared after them, a frown etched on his face. He looked back down at his food, playing with the mashed potatoes. Izayoi looked at her brother and then ate a few more bites before following Sanosuke and her mother. Noriaki did the same. He wanted to see what Sanosuke had learned as well.

Once he was outside, Sanosuke turned to his mother. "Ready?" he asked, holding his arms out form his sides.

"Of course." She said, lacing her fingers together.

He concentrated, drawing his sand together, along with some dirt that he concealed in the grains, so that it formed a ball. Then he looked over at his mother. "Can you pour a bucket of water on my sand please?"

She gave him a suspicious glance but did as he asked. She walked over to the side of the house and grabbed a pale that Hayate used to make his sand castles. She turned on the hose and filled it to the brim, then came back over and splashed the sand. "Alright."

Closing his eyes for extra concentration, and drew his hands together. Slowly, he separated the appendages, causing his sand and the dirt to separate. The dirt had soaked up all of the water, and he let it fall to the ground in a heap of mud. He opened his eyes and let a small smile come to his face in triumph. Then looked over to his mother. "See? Now when my sand gets wet, I can fix the problem so it won't hinder me."

She studied the sand and the dirt carefully, it was definitely curious. "So are you going to carry dirt around with you all the time, or simply use it when it is around you?"

He mulled it over a bit. "I could, I mean, it would be a lot easier. But the dirt would only add extra weight. So instead I will just mix in some of my sand with the dirt around me, like Grandpa does to make more sand. Only I'll be controlling it along with the dirt."

"But dirt is a lot harder to control. It has less of sand's components." She held her hand out and the sand in the area immediately went to its mistress. "You're going to have to use amazing chakra control." She explained, holding her other hand out and focusing on the dirt. Her eyes dilated and the dirt crawled towards her as well, more smoothly than when Sanosuke had tried to control it, but of course she was a master. "It will take a massive amount of training."

He nodded, having activated his sharingan to get a better look at the sand his mother was using. Red eyes looked at her. "I can do that. I also want to try and develop a different way to fight with it. I think there's a way I could use that along with dad's lightning technique to make glass, kinda like what happened when he and Uncle Toshi fought. You know, like sending lightning into the sand after I've impaled someone?" He said, attempting to explain it better. Then his sharingan deactivated and he looked down. "But I'm not big enough to try yet, since I can't learn lightning till I'm older." He said dejectedly.

Akito walked out into the backyard and placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "Well, at the rate you're going, it won't be long until I can start to teach you. I learned how to use lightning when I was eleven, so use the next few years to hone this technique and your use of the sand." Natsumi dropped her hands, letting both earthy mixtures fall to the ground.

She gave her son a smile, "That is very excellent Sanosuke. I'm very proud of you. You are more than extraordinary." She walked up to him and placed a reassuring hand on his head. "You are so brilliant."

Izayoi and Noriaki peeked outside from the window. Kanamé came up behind them and looked as well. "Wow." The triplets marveled. Izayoi simply let her mind wander. If Sanosuke was going to try and create glass, didn't that mean they could control it as well? It made sense. She let a small smile come across her face. She could only imagine the damage she could do if she were able to control glass.

Natsumi removed her hand from Sanosuke and headed back to the house. Hayate ran out onto the porch and fell into his mother's arms. "Mommy! I'm finished. Ami said she wants brownies for desert and I think that sounds yummy!" he smiled happily. She took him up in her arms and snuggled against him.

"Oh gosh my little love that sounds delicious! But only if you help mommy make them." She flashed him a smile of her own, making his widen.

"Of course, I always love helping you make goodies." The little boy beamed. She kissed his cheek and carried him inside, passing the triplets on the way in. One looking particularly uncomfortable. Noriaki and Izayoi ran after them, ready to help clear the table. Kanamé stared after his mother, unmoving from his place.

Sensing his son's discomfort, Akito placed his hand on the boy's head. Eyes mimicking Natsumi's looked up at him questioningly, and Akito raised a brow him. "Is everything alright son?"

He didn't answer at first, but forced a smile to his face. "Yeah, of course Dad. Why would there be anything wrong?"

"Kanamé, you can tell me. Besides, you're my son, I know when you're lying." The elder Uchiha said.

The eldest child frowned instantly. "It's really nothing Dad…I'm sure I'm just…overreacting."

"Well, would it put your mind at ease if we talked about it? It helps."

"I'm afraid of mom." He admitted.

Surprised, Akito tilted his head. "Why?"

"She just…I mean I know you and mom are ninjas, and I know that mom is an extremely skilled assassin, but…" he stopped, his shaky hands forming into fists. "She just killed him without any hesitation. I've never…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

Akito smiled sadly at his son, and squatted down next to him. "Now you know why your mother and I don't discuss our more important missions. But you have to know son, that the reason your mom killed him so ruthlessly was because you and your siblings were in danger. When someone you care deeply about, someone you love, is in danger, you kind of…lose yourself."

He nodded. "I know…it was just so different seeing it…than imagining her doing it. The look on her face…" he shook his head and sighed. "I can't believe I'm afraid of my own mother."

"Don't be. She would never hurt you or your siblings. The only time she gets like that is when her loved ones are in danger, or she's really, really angry. You'll understand someday. Trust me." Akito said, smiling.

He looked back into the house and then back at his father, "You're right." He finally smiled. "It's silly. Thanks Dad." He said, giving his father a tight hug.

Akito returned the embrace, ruffling his eldest's hair when they parted. "No problem Kanamé. Now why don't you go inside and make your cousins feel stupid." He suggested.

He smirked, mimicking his father. "That won't be too hard. After all Aunt Mina and Uncle Toshi are their parents." He snickered, running off to go find Ami.

* * *

"Thanks for helping us make the brownies Minako," Natsumi smiled, stirring the brownie mix in the large bowl. "And thank you Ayame and Hayate. I'm glad we have two such wonderful helpers in the kitchen tonight.'

"It's no problem Aunt Sumi. I love chocolate, especially brownies." Ayame said, smiling brightly.

The pink haired woman walked over to the counter and kissed her youngest on the forehead. "And would you like to taste the batter Hayate?" he nodded excitedly. Natsumi stuck her finger in the chocolate mass and then froze, her eyes going wide as saucers. The next thing anyone heard was an ear shattering scream and then a crash. Natsumi doubled over, holding her head in agony. The glass bowl had fallen off the counter to the floor, shattering upon impact.

"DADDY!" Hayate yelled, running out of the room to get his father. Akito rushed into the kitchen and knelt next to his wife, wrapping her in a comforting hug.

"Hayate, go into the living room with Aunt Mina and Ayame." He ordered. Once they were gone, he pulled Natsumi into his lap and began to run his fingers through her hair. "Honey, shhh, calm down. I'm here, everything is going to be okay." He murmured.

"There's so much blood," she whispered hoarsely, clinging onto him as if her life depended on it. "It's everywhere." She was sobbing now, unable to control herself. "Our bed…so much…it's everywhere. My babies, I need to save them!" she shouted, reaching out as if to grab something imaginary. "Where are you Akito?!"

Cupping her face in his hands, he looked directly into her frenzied eyes. "Natsumi! I'm right here, come back to me baby. This is the real world." He told her, searching her face for any kind of recognition.

Her expression immediately sobered and she seemed to see him for the first time. Tears streamed down her cheeks, unable to stop the flow. "Akito, you can't leave me…" she said breathlessly, closing her eyes and trying to fight away the terrible images she had just seen. "Please don't leave me alone."

He pulled her closer to him and resumed running his fingers through her pink locks in order to comfort her. "I'm not going anywhere." He promised.

"There was so much blood." she said, sounding pained.

"There isn't any blood sweetheart. You were just seeing things." He assured.

She shook her head, "No…this is going to happen. I saw it Akito! It was clearer than anything I have ever seen before!" she stared up at him, looking horrified.

He gave her a meaningful look. "Nothing is going to happen while I'm here, I promise. I will protect you and our children." She just continued to cry, she could feel nothing but pain and loss. She didn't want to be conscious anymore, this grief was overwhelming her. "Do you want me to take you to our room?" he asked. She nodded, beginning to sob again.

He picked her up bridal style and carried her through the halls until reaching their bedroom. Gently placing her on the bed, he sat next to her and stroked her cheek tenderly. "Natsumi, you know I never break my promises. Nothing is going to happen to our family while I'm here." He repeated, wanting to quell her fears.

"No," she looked at him with blurred vision. "You aren't here. That's the problem." She reached for his hand and took it tightly in her own. "You have to promise me you won't leave me. You can't." she choked into more sobs, closing her eyes.

"I'm not going to leave you. Not when there's a chance you'll be in danger." He promised, clasping her hands in his. She nodded slowly, finally able to regulate her breathing. He sat there with her until she fell asleep. The emotional stress had really taken a toll on her energy.

Kissing the top of her head, he rose and silently made his way to the living room, where everyone else had gathered. "Kids, it's time to go to bed. Run along and get ready, and I'll be in there to tuck you in in a minute." He said. Hayate looked at his father worriedly.

"Is Mommy gonna be okay?" he asked. Akito nodded stiffly.

"She will be fine son, she is resting now." Assured that their mother was fine, since their father had taken care of it, the children left and went down the hall, off to get ready for bed. Minako rose and looked at her daughters.

"Come on girls. We have to get up early tomorrow, so it's time for you to rest as well." She said, leading them to their rooms. Temari and Shikamaru left the group and headed for bed, seeing as they would be leaving in the morning and would need their rest.

Sakura was sitting on the arm of the chair Gaara was in. The elder redhead looked up at his wife and rest his hand on the small of her back. "My love, why don't you go ahead and say goodnight to the young ones, since this is our last night." Sakura nodded, kissing her husband on the cheek and leaving the four men in the living room. Toshiro, Sasuke, and Gaara focused on Akito.

"Is everything really alright?" Toshiro asked, lacing his fingers together.

Akito let out a sigh. "She had a premonition. Something about our family being in danger, blood everywhere, and me being gone. But I would never allow for them to get hurt, so she has nothing to worry about." He explained.

"But she's never been wrong before either." Gaara pointed out, looking more than a little worried. "Are you sure you will be able to prevent it?"

Toshiro looked to his father and then back to his best friend. "But her visions never happen instantaneously. There has always been time, sometimes years."

"She didn't say when this was going to occur. And the only time I do leave is when I go on missions. I can't just quit being a ninja and wait for this to blow over. It's what I do." Akito said.

"I can watch over them while you are gone Akito, it's no problem." Sasuke offered. Normally he wouldn't do anyone favors, but this was his family. He would do anything for them and their safety.

The two redheads sighed and got up. "I just hope you're right Akito." Gaara nodded as well. He didn't even want to think of the possibility of any of his family getting hurt.

"We should probably get to bed. We have an early morning." Toshiro sighed and left the room with his father, both adjourning to their own rooms for the night. Sasuke placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Do not worry about it. Should anything happen while you are away, I will protect them." Then he left, off to go to his own home. Akito sighed once more and went to go tuck his children into bed. Once that was taken care of, he turned out all the lights in the house and crept into his bedroom. Pulling off his shirt and pants, he crawled into bed next to Natsumi. He wrapped a protective arm around her and pulled her against his chest.

"I love you." he mumbled, burying his face in her hair. She didn't respond verbally, only moving into his hold and subconsciously resting her hands over his. He fell asleep then, his mind still dwelling on her premonition. Nothing would cause harm to his family while he was around, he would be sure of that.


	20. Premonition

**Tempest**

_Epilogue_

-Premonition-

"Well I know you weren't excited to see us, but it was really good to see you guys. I missed you a lot sis." Toshiro smiled brightly, hugging his younger sister tightly. Natsumi smiled back, returning his embrace. She did miss her family, but there really was only so much she could take. Their joint family was just too big.

"I missed you as well, next time though, let's plan it." She teased, giving him a tight squeeze.

The five Uchiha children and the Sabaku girls stared each other down, until Hayate ran over and hugged his cousins lovingly. "Good bye Ami! Bye, bye Ayame! I will miss you!"

Natsumi looked over and laughed, she loved her youngest so much. He was so adorable. Hayate then ran over to his uncle and hugged him around the legs tightly. "Bye Uncle Toshi!" he said, smiling up at the redhead.

Toshiro released his sister and picked up the small boy. "Goodbye little Hayate! I think I will miss you the most." He smiled brightly, "You know you look just like your daddy."

"Yup! My mommy says I'm gonna be a heart breaker when I grow up!" he said, smiling proudly. Akito chuckled at his son, walking over and ruffling his hair.

"Of course you will. Until you find your special someone that is. Then you have to take care of her heart." He told him.

"That's right," Toshiro nodded, giving his nephew a look. "You have to protect your love like your dad protects your mommy."

"And how Uncle Toshi protects Aunt Mina?" he asked, gazing up at his elders.

"Exactly!" the redhead laughed and handed the small boy to his father.

Gaara walked over to Yuki and set his hand on her head, "It was nice to see you sweetheart. And Hikari is absolutely gorgeous." He said with a small smile, looking down at the blonde in his youngest child's arms.

She smiled back and hugged her father, letting him go as Sakura came to get her own hug. Everyone said their farewells and prepared to leave. Toshiro stayed in front of his sister and held her face in his hands. "If you need anything don't hesitate to send a letter, I'll be here as soon as I can." He gave her a small smile, feeling her distress from her premonition.

"I know, I know." She said softly, placing her hands over his. "I promise."

"Good," he pulled away and waved at the group. "See you guys soon. Hopefully."

"With any luck it won't be too soon." Sasuke grumbled, crossing his arms.

Gaara glanced over to the elder Uchiha and smirked. "Trust me. If I can prevent it, I will."

Sasuke looked at him and smirked. "Just like you prevented this one? Next time just send a letter ahead and I'll take care of everything." He said.

"I was blind sighted this time," he said simply, crossing his arms. He wasn't too worried about Natsumi's vision. He knew firsthand how strong Sasuke was, and that their family was safe here.

He rolled his eyes slightly. "Sure."

The group left then, and the Uchihas watched them walk off into the forest. Bored, Sasuke left, Sanosuke following him. Shuhei looked over to his brother-in-law. "Hey Akito-nii-san, I need to talk to you about something important." He said, motioning towards the Hokage Tower.

"Alright." He said. He turned and kissed Natsumi quickly and placed Hayate in her arms. "I'll be back soon honey."

She sighed and watched her husband leave. "Come on kids, let's get home and clean up the house before daddy gets back." She said, heading back towards the Uchiha District. The triplets followed wordlessly, knowing that it wouldn't take too long to clean the house, since his mother's relatives were all freaks like she was.

* * *

Akito came back home to find it even more spotless than it usually was. He walked into the living room to see his daughter helping Hayate with his reading. The two looked up at his entrance. "Hey kids. Where's your mom?" he asked, smiling at them.

"She's out in the backyard." Izayoi said, turning the page and pointing to where Hayate needed to read.

"She said she needs to be better! But I don't know how that's possible!" he exasperated, leaning against his sister and smiling happily.

He went out back to see his wife training in her taijutsu moves. Using his speed, he appeared in front of her and began to spar against her. He loved training with her, it was one of the many ways they spent time with each other and bonded.

She hiked her leg up and tried to slam it into his head, not wanting to hurt him of course, but she never held back. Not even against her husband. If he couldn't defend himself, then he wasn't as good as he claimed.

He blocked her kick with his arm and twisted his body one hundred and eighty degrees so that he could kick her in return. She crossed her wrists and caught his angle, looking down at him from their odd stand still. "What did Shuhei want?"

"He needs me to go on a mission." He said, breaking her hold and lowering his leg.

She lowered her stance and gave him a small glare. "You told him no…right?"

That look didn't mean good things. "No, I told him I would do it. Its Anbu level and only I can do it. It will only take me a day anyways." He explained.

"What about my vision, you can't leave until it's happened!" she shrieked, quickly controlling her voice and looking around to make sure she hadn't alarmed any of their children. "I don't think it's a good idea, and I don't want you to."

"But honey, I already said I would go." He said, trying to reason with her.

Her glare intensified and she crossed her arms, yet another bad sign. "You said yes without asking me first?" she pressed her lips together tightly, waiting for his excuse.

"It's an important mission. Shuhei suspects someone of plotting against Konoha, and I'm the best at infiltration and information gathering. Since it will only take a day, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal." He said.

"Wouldn't be that big of a deal?!" she yelled once more and then took a deep breath. "I don't want to talk about this right now, I need to go shopping." She growled, walking past him and sliding the door open and stepping into the kitchen. He followed her wordlessly, knowing that she was still upset and wanting to smooth it over before he had to leave.

She grabbed a basket and headed for the door. "Izayoi, watch your brother, make sure Noriaki doesn't try to experiment on him."

"Hey!" the boy poked his head around the corner and huffed, "That was _one_ time!"

"And let's keep it that way boy, don't make mommy mad." She pointed at him and slid the front door open. She walked out, pulling her shorts down a bit since they had moved up.

"And don't try and wrap him in duct tape. Minako told me about the other day." Akito said over his shoulder, following her out and shutting the door behind him.

They walked to the market silently. She wasn't exactly pleased with his decision to come with her since she was angry with him. But she had sworn to herself to never tell him to leave her ever again. She stopped at the apple stand, pulling one out and examining it. "I don't want you to go." She said finally, putting a few more in the basket and paying the man.

"But honey, everything will be fine. You know I'll come back in one piece. And if anything happens while I'm gone my father can handle it." He said, following her to the bananas.

"How do you know that?" she glared back at him, focusing forward. She didn't want her worry to be so apparent, but the only way she could do so was with anger.

"It always is. And my father is strong. Sure he hasn't gone on a mission in a long time, but that doesn't mean he's out of shape or rusty. You know he trains consistently."

She stopped after getting a few more fruits and turned to face him, "I didn't say anything of the sort. But how do you know something bad isn't going to happen? I don't feel comfortable with it." She stepped closer to him, giving him a threatening look. "I would feel more comfortable if you stayed home."

"Missions are part of the life of a ninja Natsumi, you of all people know this." He said, crossing his arms.

"I don't understand why you can't just say 'no' this one time? I never ask you to turn down missions and you know that, why can't you? And I know they are important, I take assassinations still, but this is different." She ran one of her hands through her hair and growled.

"I know you never ask me to turn them down and that's great, but this one is really important. Shuhei doesn't have anyone else to go on this mission, and the sooner it's done the better. I promise I won't be gone long." He repeated. Why was she being so stubborn? After being in the village for so long and having to deal with his family, he really wanted some action, and what better way than an S-Class mission?

He could see the tears forming in her eyes. "I don't care. I'll go on it! But you need to be here, I don't know why you just do!" she yelled, hating that she was now causing a scene.

Before anything else could be said there was an irritatingly familiar voice from the side. "Well, well, well." A very beautiful woman walked up, her brown hair was pulled up into a high pony tail and went down to her lower back. Her crystal blue eyes focused on the pink haired Uchiha and slanted into a glare. "I see she's inhibiting you Akito-sama, I told you that you made the wrong choice." Taka sighed, giving the handsome man a smile.

Natsumi literally hissed, focusing her malicious stare on the ex-teammate of her husband's old Anbu squad. "Taka, I really don't want to deal with you right now, it's a bad time."

"Then don't. Just go on home to your little brats, while I show Akito-sama what a real woman is." She said haughtily.

Before she could even blink, she was slammed into the ground, a hand gripping her throat. Startled blue looked into furious red. "A-a-akito-sa-"

"Don't _ever_ speak of my children that way again, or I'll kill you. And obviously you aren't a real woman, since the only one who could catch my attention was Natsumi. She has more woman in her pinky than you do in your entire body, so shut up. Our personal lives don't concern you, so keep your hideous, witch-like nose to yourself." He snarled. He squeezed her neck once more for good measure and stood, deactivating his blood line.

Natsumi just turned her back to the two and finished up her shopping as Akito trailed after her, taking the basket when it got fairly full. When they finished she headed home, keeping her arms crossed so he couldn't take her hand and work his wondrous magic. The fact that he could touch her and almost make her do anything he wanted royally pissed her off…most of the time.

When they got home Akito went straight into the kitchen and put the groceries away. He had to leave for his mission in a few hours, and it was really upsetting him that she was acting so childish. Once he was done with that he went into their bedroom and pulled out his Jounin uniform.

He took off his civilian clothes and dressed in his uniform. He was wearing regular ninja shoes, black baggy pants that ended just above his ankles, a tight black shirt that covered his arms, and his green Jounin vest. Then he strapped his kunai holster around his waist and right leg. He went into the training room then and took down his katana, strapping it on his back. As he was leaving the room he ran into Kanamé.

"Dad." He blinked and then took in his attire. "Are you going on a mission?"

"He _shouldn't_ be!" they heard yelled from the living room.

Akito rolled his eyes. "Yes. You'll be the man of the house while I'm gone, okay?" he said, placing his hand on his son's head.

"So…you're leaving…even though mom said she doesn't want you to?" he asked, trying to grasp what was going on between his parents.

"Yes son. Uncle Shuhei needs me for a very important mission. I'll be back in less than forty-eight hours, your mother is just worrying unnecessarily." He told him.

"I thought she had a vision."

"She did, but with her and your grandfather here, everything will be fine." He reassured, walking into the living room.

"Okay…" he watched his father, before going into the training room to perfect his kunai throwing.

He entered the living room and saw his wife sitting on the couch with Hayate. "I'm leaving." He announced. Hayate got off the couch and ran over to his father.

"Bye Daddy! Be careful on your mission and make sure to hurry back so mommy doesn't worry anymore!" he said, hugging his father's legs.

Akito smiled down at him. "I will son. I promise." He said, patting the youngest Uchiha on the head.

"Goodbye Dad!" Izayoi said, hugging her father as well. "Hurry back and be safe." She smiled, taking Hayate's hand and pulling him down the hall since she knew her parents needed to be alone.

Noriaki, having heard the disturbance, popped his head in. "See ya later Dad." He waved and then disappeared once more.

Natsumi shifted her gaze from where her son had been back to her husband. Akito walked over, stopping when he was before her. "I promise to hurry back to you and the kids. I love you." He said, his uncertainty finally entering his gaze then. Never before had he ever left for a mission where she was mad at him. Each and every time they said they loved each other and she saw him out. But now, he wasn't sure if she would or not.

She got up slowly, taking his hand despite her displeasure with his decision. They walked out of the house together, and headed towards the gate. She stopped when they were near the front of the village and looked up at him sadly. "I really wish you wouldn't go."

He brought his hand up and stroked her cheek softly, giving her a tender gaze. "I know, I'm sorry. But if you need anything though, my father is just down the street."

She sighed, no matter how many times he said that it would not ease her worry. "Just…hurry back." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

He kissed her lightly. "I will. I promise. I love you." He said softly.

"I love you too," she leaned up and kissed him more deeply.

He returned her kiss, glad that she wasn't still completely upset with him. He pulled away and kissed her forehead before turning and leaping off into the trees, intent on completing his mission as quickly as possible.

She watched him until he disappeared and she could no longer feel him. With an exasperated sigh she turned around and walked back to her home. She needed to make dinner for the kids and make sure they were ready for their day at the academy tomorrow.

She opened the front door and stepped inside, walking into the kitchen and letting her mind wonder. Everything would be alright. She nodded, trying to convince herself. When she finished cooking the front door opened and Sasuke and Sanosuke came in together. Natsumi counted out the plates and set the table, hearing the triplets already running down the hall yelling. "Dinner time!"

Hayate ran into the kitchen then. "Do you need any help Mommy?!" he asked.

"No that's alright dear, mommy's got it. Why don't you go ask grandpa if he'll get you all to settle down?" she smiled sadly, and set the chicken caesar salad in the center of the table.

"Okay!" he said, running out to get Sasuke. Soon afterwards the chatter died down and everyone was seated at the dining room table.

"Where's dad?" Sanosuke asked, looking around the room, expecting his father to come in any moment now.

Natsumi stopped mid-bite, trying to ease the discomfort that rose in her stomach. "He got assigned a very special mission by Shuhei and left."

"Oh." He said, resuming eating his meal. His father didn't usually go on missions, but it wasn't a surprise to the young boy. After all, his father was the best, next to his grandfather that is.

"Yeah, but mom got mad at him cause' he left." Noriaki told his brother, since he had missed nearly the whole afternoon fight.

"Why? Dad goes on mission all the time and nothing bad happens." Sanosuke said, reaching for his water.

Kanamé rolled his eyes at his younger brother's slight ignorance. "_Because_ mom had a premonition last night and she asked him not to go, but he did."

"Okay." Natsumi interjected, giving her triplets a silencing glare. Hayate was starting to look scared with all the talk. She touched her youngest's head, who was sitting beside her, and gently caressed him, running her hands through his hair. "It's alright Hayate, daddy said everything would be alright. And daddy never lies."

"But mommy's never wrong." He said, bottom lip trembling slightly.

She smiled sadly at him and nodded, "I know but maybe this one time, mommy is wrong."

He shook his head. "Nuh uh. You're the smartest lady in the village, there's no way you could ever be wrong." He said adamantly.

Sasuke decided to intervene in the conversation then, tired of the depressing talk. Surprisingly. "Hayate, how did your reading go today?" he asked.

The young boy's face immediately became animated, and he started to talk about the new words he'd learned and what book he had read to Izayoi.

Natsumi continued eating in silence, glad for her father-in-law's distraction. She really didn't want to have an emotional breakdown in front of her kids. The young Uchiha girl looked over at her grandfather and started tell him about her idea she had gotten from Sanosuke. "So when Sanosuke came up with that genius idea, I was thinking what if I could learn how to control glass. Since glass is made outta sand."

He gave her a contemplative look. "Sounds like an interesting idea. I don't think it's ever been done before. But you'll need to work with your sand and lightning first, that way you can make your own glass. And you'll want to see if you can use other kinds of glass instead of just your own, though I'm sure you'll be able to. In fact, you're almost old enough to learn chidori and how to use lightning, so all you need to do until your next birthday is work on your sand." He said.

"Yes sir!" she nodded, continuing to eat.

Dinner went on silently after that, and when it was over Sasuke rose and helped clear the table. Hayate, not wanting to leave his mother alone, followed the two into the kitchen and helped wash the dishes. Sanosuke went to sharpen his kunai, and the triplets went outside to practice their sand techniques.

"Sasuke…" Natsumi began, picking up Hayate and setting him on the counter. She pat his knee and then started washing the dishes in the sink. "Would you stay here tonight?"

He glanced at her as he set the rest of the dishes on the counter. "Why?"

"I feel like something bad is going to happen…" she admitted, looking over at him sadly. She didn't like to seem weak in front of him, but the feeling that was growing deep inside her was only getting worse.

He scoffed. "It will be fine. If anything happens, I'm right down the street. I'll even keep the window open so that I can hear you better should you yell for me." He said. He refused to humor her in her feminine worries, but he would do that one kindness for her, because he knew his son would want him to.

She tried to repress the glare that made its way to her features. Why were neither of them taking this seriously?! Yes, her premonition had been different than before and had lasted longer, but it was much more vivid and something inside her was screaming that she needed one of them with her tonight. She didn't respond to him, showing just how angry she was with him _and_ his son. They finished quickly and she picked up Hayate, setting him down on his feet. "Go tell your brothers and sisters to get ready for bed."

"Yes Mommy!" he said, saluting her before running off.

After cleaning up the kitchen and the dining room, she wished Sasuke a good night as he returned home. She turned off all the lights, making sure all the doors and windows were locked and secured. After she had finished with that, she made her way down the hall and poked her head in Izayoi's room. "Night time. But keep your ninja shoes and your kunai by your bed. Just in case." She said, stepping in and kissing her daughter on the forehead.

"Yes ma'am." She smiled beautifully and did so, slipping into bed and letting her mother turn off the light and shut her door. Natsumi went to each of her older boys rooms' and said the same, kissing them goodnight and turning off their lights. Finally she stopped at Sanosuke's room and stood in the doorway. "It's night time my love."

"Okay Mom." He said, finishing putting all his newly sharpened weapons in their holster and laying them on his bedside table. Then he grabbed his shoes and put them next to his bed, as was his ritual every night. His grandfather had told him to always be prepared, no matter what. And with his mother having a premonition, he wanted to be extra ready. Then he crawled into bed and pulled the covers up, situating himself.

She gave him a small smile and walked in, kissing his head. "I love you Sanosuke, have sweet dreams." She told him, heading back to the door and shutting off the lights. She found Hayate already situated in her and Akito's bed on his side, his shoes next to the nightstand, since he was too young to own any kunai. "Are you ready to go to sleep Mommy? Maybe all you need is some happy dreams, and then you'll feel better." he said, trying to fix his father's pillow into a comfortable style.

"Maybe, my small one." She blew him a kiss and went into her bathroom, eyeing it suspiciously. The real reason she had been so thorough in her securing was because she wanted to make sure there was _no one_ in her house. When she was satisfied with the feel, she shut the door and grabbed her sand gourd from the other side of the room, setting on her bedside. She already had weapons stashed away in nearly every room of her house, and her own in her drawer beside her bed. She sat down on her side and pulled off her shoes, getting into bed without changing.

Hayate immediately snuggled into his mother's arms, already on the road to sleep, since it was late for him to still be up. "Night Mommy. I love you, and somewhere, daddy is thinking of us." He said sleepily, trying to reassure her.

She wrapped her arms securely around her child, more in a protective manner. "I know he is, goodnight Hayate." She whispered, curling against him and resting her chin on his head. Her son had always slept with her when Akito was gone. Since he knew he looked like Akito when he had been young, Hayate thought it would make his mom not feel so lonely. She stared at the wall, alert and feeling around her entire home. If something did happen, she would not let surprise fall on her.

After a few hours had passed, she had gotten used to the soft sound of her son breathing. She was suddenly glad for her inherited sleep disorder. Now she could stay awake and full of energy, no matter how long she had been without sleep. Natsumi glanced over and stared at the small clock on Akito's bedside table. It was nearly three in the morning. Just before she could allow herself any hope for a peaceful night, a terrible feeling of dread washed over her. She froze and went wide eyed. It _was_ tonight, but this was far worse than she had imagined. She threw the covers back, sitting up and grabbing her shoes. She slid them on and nudged her son's shoulder. "Come on Hayate, wake up." She whispered harshly, trying to pinpoint just how many there were. They had the entire Uchiha District surrounded. But how did they get this many in the village? She got up and fastened her kunai holster to her thigh, pulling her sand gourd over her shoulder. She leaned over her bed and pulled Hayate up from his sleepy position.

He had one of his shoes on and had been trying for the other. She pulled it on for him and headed for the hall, being as silent as she could. She slid open Sanosuke's door and looked in. "Get up." She ordered, already feeling his conscious being. He hopped out of bed quickly and pulled on his shoes, grabbing his holster and following his mother out into the hall.

"Stay close to me." She told him, opening Noriaki's door and telling him the same thing. He was out in an instant, pulling on both his shoes and looking at Sanosuke. Then he stared up at his mom, keeping close to her.

"What's happening?" he asked in a hushed voice.

She ignored her son, opening Izayoi's door and ordering her out. She went across the hall and opened Kaname's. He was in the doorway and walked out, holding his father's spare sword. "Should I go and get grandfather?" Izayoi questioned her mother, who looked very serious at the moment. They all watched her face, never having seen her like this before. Her movements were quick and fluid. Maybe this was what it looked like to be a real ninja.

Natsumi took her daughter's hand and told them to follow her and stay as close as possible. "We are going to go find your grandfather." She pressed her hand against Hayate's head, keeping him tightly against her. She would die protecting her children if she had to. They stopped at the front door and she unlocked all the bolts and the chain and pushed them out. "Be alert. Activate your sharingan. Now."

At her demand all four of her children let their eyes twist into a threatening red. The night came in more sharply and they could see the fog beginning to roll in. It was a very unnatural looking fog, and was only around the Uchiha District. "Mom…" Noriaki said warily, glancing around as they came into the front of the house. She placed Hayate down and gave Izayoi a look.

"Watch your brother. Protect him." She said, turning her back to them. "Now stay there right now." She took off, her sand exploding from her gourd. It wrapped around her just as three men jumped out from the rolling mist. Two were slammed against trees, hard sand impaling straight through their hearts. The one in the center didn't let it faze him. He rushed at her, but was stopped immediately when her fingers made quick jabs at his chest. He screamed out in agony, gripping at his chest as if he were trying to rip something tangible off. Two more ninja appeared on her sides, and she flipped back, setting her hands on the ground and twirling herself. She kicked both of them in the face, causing them to fall back and off balance. Her sand wrapped around them tightly as she pushed back onto her feet and let the deadly grains squeeze the life from their pitiful eyes.

She ran back and took Sanosuke and Hayate's hands, dragging them forward, leaving the triplets to follow. "Come on, we need to get to grandpa's." she hurried them forward, almost running. It was hard not to just take off, but her children did not have her ability yet. And she couldn't carry five kids at once, she wasn't that strong. She halted immediately, going wide eyed. They were already cut off from the rest of the area. "Oh my God." She mumbled, turning around and shoving them forward. "Get in the house now!" she tried not to scream, but her only impulse now was to protect her children from the shinobi that were closing in. She could feel them, at least forty of them.

Once they were in the front door, she grabbed the handle and leaned over them. "Find a place to hide and _stay_ there!" she said, slamming the door shut and turning back to the streets. She started forward, letting her eyes search around the thick mist that was finally creeping in. Why was she not surprised? All her life Mist had been trying to take her, and now they were after her children. She thought about Sasuke and how to try and get to him, but she couldn't leave the house, not with her children hiding inside. If she yelled for him, she would give away her position. She inwardly groaned and rubbed her forehead, already feeling the moisture that was being put in the air.

That was when she heard glass shatter. She shot around, wide eyed. They were in her house! She didn't care anymore about being silent, she threw the door open and went wide eyed at the sight. There were at least ten men in her living room. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" she screamed, running forward and pulling out two kunai. She dodged a water dragon aimed for her and maneuvered around the first two men she could get her hands on. She reached around their heads and dragged the cold metal across their throats, making them fall to the floor and bleed out their final moments.

A hand was on her shoulder and she spun around, sending a powerful kick to the side of his head. Her sand shot out and tried to move quickly, but the mist was slowing it down and causing it to fall to the ground from the heavy water. She growled with irritation, now having to take on the rest of the ninja with taijutsu. She took note of their headbands, seeing it was indeed Mist. Typical.

She lowered her stance and outstretched two of her fingers, speeding up her movements and hitting every vital she saw. Her vision was filled with red as she used her kunai to slice their throats and femoral arteries. She didn't care about her beautiful living room right now and the fact the blood was pooling everywhere. She just needed to protect her children. She didn't stop moving until the last body fell against the wall, leaving a blood smear as he collapsed. She tried to regulate her breathing so she could move to the ones closing in, but felt instant pain shoot through her left hip. She screamed out in agony, looking down to see an oddly hooked kunai sunk into her flesh. She glanced back, seeing it had gone through her back and had a thick line attached to it.

The man at the other end of the rope gave her a hateful smirk. "Hello _Uchiha_ Natsumi. It's finally time you died for all the trouble you've given us."

"Like hell." she glared, turning around, about to attack him. He jerked the rope forward and whipped her around from the position, causing another pain filled scream to escape. He jerked her once more and sent her flying through the air and through the back door. She held up her arms in defense, protecting her face and head from the impact of the ground. She hit it with a hard smack and rolled on the ground. She reached her hand back and ripped the kunai from her side, screaming out in misery.

Her hand immediately went to her bleeding wound in an attempt to heal it, but the next thing she knew she was on her back, staring at the ugly face of the man who had given her the gash. His foot was on her chest and sliding down to her throat. She removed her hand and grabbed his ankle keeping it away from her neck. Before she could focus on her jutsu she caught something from her peripheral vision and gasped. She turned her eyes back to the man and tried not to look over. Her children were hiding beneath their raised house and were too close. The man would be able to sense them any minute now. She had to distract him.

He glared down at her with a triumphant smirk. "I can't wait to kill you and then your little boys too. We'll take that little girl with us. She's sure to be entertaining on the way home, and finally we'll have a part of you. And Akito is gone, we've been planning this for a while you little bitch."

She cursed and gripped his foot more tightly, sending a wave of painful chakra into his foot and making him stumble back in pure torment. She got up instantly, kneeing him in the stomach and then grabbing his head. She twisted it with a painful snap and let him fall lifelessly to the ground. She tried to relax so she could better heal herself, but in that second something similar to a large icicle impaled through her left shoulder and pinned her against the tree. "Damnit!" she cursed, trying to grab onto the projectile and rip it out, but it just slid through her fingers.

Three men dropped down from the roof, laughing darkly at having the sand princess pinned to a tree. She lifted her hand slowly, but instantly regretted it when another icicle ran through her palm and jammed into the bark. She held in another shriek, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of her cries.

The Uchiha children went wide eyed at the scene. Izayoi had her hands over Hayate's mouth to keep him from screaming out every time their mother got hit. This was bad, people were trying to kill her and probably them too. Kanamé gripped the ground, watching closely. He needed to help her. Their faces went stark white when one of the men pulled out a kunai and slammed it into Natsumi's side, making her give them the scream they wanted.

"MOM!" Kanamé shouted, tears filling his eyes.

Natsumi's green gaze shot past them and were wide when she saw her son running at the three. "KANAMÉ! NO!" she shrieked madly, struggling against her restraints.

The men started to laugh, turning to see the oldest Uchiha child. "Finally." one snickered.

"We finally found you little brats." Another smirked, drawing his sword.

"GET AWAY FROM MY MOTHER!" he screamed, his sharingan slowly gaining another black tomoe. He dodged the fists and sped up, moving throughout their arms. He slammed the sword straight through one and moved back before he could grab onto him. The man fell to the ground, gasping in his last breath. The other two stopped, a bit wide eyed, but charged anyway. Natsumi watched her son move, it was very similar to how she did, and noted he must have been watching her closely and mimicking her with his sharingan.

The look on his face was full of hatred. He was using his small size to his advantage and used all his strength to cut straight through one of the man's legs. He fell back, detached from his feet and cried out in misery. The blood spilled everywhere, splattering over Kaname's face. He gasped harshly, turning his threatening gaze that was filled with disdain. The last man went wide eyed and reluctantly moved to attack. Light filled the area, along with a loud chirping sound. It was small, but it was most certainly a chidori. Kanamé ran at the Mist shinobi and slammed his hand into the enemy's stomach.

There was a loud yell and then he collapsed onto his back, dying slowly. Kanamé pulled his hand back, a stoic and uncaring expression on his face. He would never allow anyone to kill his mother, and he would not allow her pain to continue. His face fell suddenly and he ran to her, using a small fire jutsu to melt the ice.

Natsumi stumbled forward. The wounds felt like they were draining her chakra as well. "Are you okay Mommy?" he asked, trying to steady her.

"Yes sweetie I'm fine." She touched his head and stared at the blood on his face. "Come on," she took his hand and pulled him with her towards the house, hiding just how much pain she was in. She looked under the house and ordered them out. Her gaze narrowed instantly, counting heads. There were only four. "Where is Izayoi?!" she screamed, looking around in pure terror.

"She said she had to get grandfather." Noriaki spoke shakily.

The pink haired mother went wide eyed, finally taking notice of her youngest child's eyes. "Hayate…" she gasped breathlessly, falling to her knees before him. "Oh my God." she could feel the tears spilling from her eyes. She cupped her son's face and sobbed. His eyes were a dark crimson red. He was too young to have had to experience this, and she understood why he was receiving his sharingan so early.

"Mommy you're bleeding!" he said, tears flowing freely down his face.

"It's fine honey, I promise." She told Hayate, picking him up and snapping for them to get in the house. She led them through the halls and opened one of the spare rooms. She slammed the closet open and then opened a small latch in the back. "Get in. Do _not_ come out unless, me, grandfather, or your dad tell you. Do you understand?" she glared down at them, trying to be forceful so they wouldn't come out. They nodded and climbed in and looked up at her as she handed Hayate to Kanamé. "Now be safe." She kissed them all quickly and closed the door to the hiding spot and then the closet. They heard the door to the room shut and huddled together.

"I don't understand why these people are trying to kill us." Noriaki whispered, hugging his knees.

Hayate looked to his oldest brother, fear evident in his eyes. "Big brother…you were really scary…" he said, his voice trembling. He had seen everything with his new sharingan, and couldn't erase the images of his brother killing from his mind.

Kanamé blinked and looked down at Hayate. "What are you talking about Hayate?"

"Probably the fact that you looked just like mom a couple minutes ago." Noriaki said bluntly, not bothering to look at his siblings.

"And that he saw with his sharingan everything you did. Don't forget he's not used to being able to see so clearly and remember everything he sees so precisely." Sanosuke spoke up, making sure that the room they were in was secure.

His eyebrows knit together and he gave his younger brother a firm hug. "I'm sorry Hayate, I didn't mean to scare you…I just…I had to protect mom." He said, going a bit wide eyed. His father had been right. Yes his mother's face had been scary, but now he knew how much it would hurt her to know so. Now he knew why she looked like that. When there was nothing more important than protecting the family, he knew he would have stopped at nothing.

"I know." Hayate mumbled, burying his face in his brother's chest. He was so scared, for both his siblings and his mother. "I wish daddy were here. He would be able to help mommy." He said softly.

* * *

Natsumi ran out from the house, looking around for her daughter and trying to feel around for her. "Izayoi!" she yelled, needing to locate her daughter before these monsters could. She ran forward, about to yell out again, but just as she was about to run around the corner a huge blunt object slammed into her face, making her fall back and lose consciousness.

* * *

Izayoi ran towards her grandfather's house, hiding whenever she felt a presence. She finally reached his front door and ran in, frantically searching for him. "Grandfather!" she screamed, pushing his bed room door open. She started crying, finally able to let out all her fear. "Grandfather please wake up!" she yelled again, crawling onto his bed.

Sasuke was awake the moment she entered his house. Seeing his granddaughter's upset, he sat up. Before he could ask what was wrong he felt all the foreign chakra signatures in his complex. He quickly got out of bed and threw on his shoes, grabbing his kunai holster and strapping it onto his leg. Then he reached under the bed and grabbed his sword, strapping it onto his back. He looked over at Izayoi and held out his hand to her. "Come. Take me to your siblings." He ordered, activating his sharingan.

She grabbed his hand tightly, and he could feel her shaking. "They're everywhere," she sobbed. "Mommy's bleeding everywhere and there's so much blood all over the house. They said she needed to die and they were going to take me."

"Like hell." He stopped at the front door of his house and drew his sword. He stabbed it into his wood floor and grabbed Izayoi, securing her to his back. If he had to fight anyone, it would be easier if she weren't in the way. Then he picked up his sword and left the house.

Before they could get very far, Sasuke felt people coming towards them. He could see clearly in the mist, and so was able to dodge the kunai that were thrown their way. He engaged in battle with the four men, and killed them quickly. "Unless blood bothers you Izayoi, activate your sharingan and learn." He said. She did as she was told, wanting to appear strong for her grandfather.

He resumed running, but was soon come upon by a group of fifteen men. Wielding his sword, he was just barely able to block and defend. It was impossible for him to go on the offense in this situation, especially because his granddaughter was gripping his waist and neck fiercely, and he wasn't used to fighting with an extra burden.

His sword was knocked out of his hand by a very large man holding an axe, and suddenly Sasuke felt a searing pain in his right arm. It had been sliced open by another ninja, and now his white shirt was soaked with his blood. He cursed to himself, but ignored the pain. Right now his priority was Izayoi and the rest of his family.

"Grandfather!" she sobbed, knowing it was her fault that he was hindered. She tried to release him, not wanting to be a burden, but she was scared if she left him she might not see him ever again.

"Do not let go Izayoi. Not unless I tell you." He ordered, looking at her over his shoulder.

She nodded slowly and kept her grip on him, staring down at his wound. It was pretty deep. Knowing that he needed to get to his son's house quickly, he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, gathering all of his chakra. Suddenly dark clouds formed in the sky, lightning flashing in them. Holding his injured arm up, Sasuke directed the lightning to strike the group of men surrounding them, killing them all instantly. Once they hit the ground, he ran and grabbed his sword, using his speed to reach the house.

Running into the living room, he took in the blood and bodies. He should have listened to his daughter-in-law and stayed the night. This was all his fault. Sensing the rest of his grandchildren, he ran to a spare room and threw open the closet door. Then he opened the secret latch, revealing the rest of the kids.

"Grandfather!" Hayate yelled out, his red eyes widening at all the blood covering the oldest Uchiha. Had the situation been different, Sasuke would have been pleased at the fact that Hayate now had the sharingan at such a young age.

"Stay here. I'm going to go help your mother." He said, leaning down so that Izayoi could hop off his back. It was taking an extreme amount of effort to keep the pain his arm was in from showing on his normally stoic face. His lightning technique had drained a lot of his chakra, but he needed to save as much as he could in order to kill the rest of the men he sensed in the area.

"Grandfather," Kanamé spoke up, "My mom is really hurt. She hasn't been able to heal herself and I think something bad has happened. I can barely feel her." He said worriedly. But now that his grandfather was here he was put in a bit of ease.

Hayate broke from his elder brother's grasp and hugged his grandfather tightly. "Don't go Grandfather." he said sadly, his eyes filling with tears. The look was similar to when Natsumi received her omens.

He looked down at the young boy and set his hand in his hair. "I must Hayate. Your mother needs my help." This seemed to calm him a little bit, but he was still worried. Sasuke looked at Kanamé and noted his extra tomoe. It appeared that the Uchiha would forever be cursed with traumatic experiences to happen in their childhoods. "Protect your siblings. I know you're strong enough." He said, standing. He really needed to go if he was going to reach Natsumi in time.

"I will." He nodded, grabbing Hayate and pulling him back in, sitting him between him and Izayoi.

Sanosuke stood then. "Let me come with you and help you Grandfather! I can use my new technique." He said, wanting to be helpful. Sasuke shook his head.

"I need you to stay here. If you are found, your siblings will need you to use it to keep their sand dry. I'm counting on you Sanosuke." He said.

"Yes sir." The boy replied, nodding firmly. He would make his grandfather proud, should the moment ever arise.

"You'll come back…won't you Grandfather?" Izayoi asked, a sinister feeling washing over her.

He held in a sigh, knowing that he probably wouldn't see them again, given the odds they were facing. He knelt in front of her and stroked her cheek, allowing a look of tenderness to come upon his features. "No matter what happens, we will see each other again." He said, avoiding answering her question directly. "You are beautiful Izayoi, just like your mother. Never forget that. You only deserve the best." He said, kissing her forehead. Then he stood and shut the door before any of them could keep him longer. He exited the closet and shut it, locking it from the inside.

He expanded his chakra, trying to sense where Natsumi was. His eyes widened slightly when he realized she was in the master bedroom with three other men. Who knew what they could be doing to her. He rushed out of the spare room and shut the door quickly, only to be met with a group of five Mist shinobi. "Well, well, well...it seems the brats are hiding in that closet eh? It'll make 'em easier to kill once we get ridda you." one said, a sadistic look coming to his face.

Suddenly Sasuke was surrounded by a group of clones. He fell into a defensive stance, and watched with his sharingan until one of them moved. When they attacked, he swung his sword expertly, bringing down as many as he could. But every time he destroyed one, two more appeared to take his place. He cursed when he figured this out. Without the ability of the byakugan, it would be difficult for him to tell where the real ones were. Because the only way to get rid of the clones would be to kill the originals.

He let his eyes shift into the Mangekyou, making it slightly easier to detect the differences in the chakras. Finding one of the real ones, he was next to him instantly, slicing off his head in one swift motion. He looked around, trying to concentrate and find another one. Just as he had found one, he felt a searing pain in his back where one of the clones had stabbed him while he was distracted. He let out a pained grunt as he reached behind himself and ripped the kunai out. It was shaped differently than normal ones, meaning that it had taken of a bit more flesh than originally thought.

Sasuke disappeared then, and quickly killed the owner of the clone that had stabbed him in the back, wincing slightly as he felt his flesh tear some more from the exertion. He needed to end this quickly, so that he had enough chakra left to help Natsumi. But there were still three left that needed to be taken care of.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the originals open the door to the spare bedroom, trying to sneak in in order to reach the kids. Slicing his way through the clones and ignoring the fact that they were multiplying, Sasuke quickly reached the man, stabbing him through the heart from behind. Blood gurgled out of the Mist ninja's mouth as he fell to the floor, lifeless.

He turned swiftly and assessed how many clones were before him. He only had to find the last two, and then he would be free to rescue his daughter-in-law. The amount of clones had diminished somewhat, since three of the five men were already dead. The group attacked him then, and it took all of his concentration to ignore the pain in his arm and back to block all of the attacks that were aimed his way. As he was ducking from a kick aimed at his head, Sasuke saw one of the last two ninjas trying to hide in the ceiling. Most likely in an attempt to reach the spare bedroom that way. Without thinking the elder Uchiha threw his katana up, impaling the man through the chest, pinning him to the ceiling. Blood seeped out and dripped to the floor, as the ninja hung there, going limp after a few seconds.

In his distraction from looking up to aim his sword, Sasuke was pierced through his left shoulder by another kunai, the same that had been embedded in his back. This time he actually did let out a pained noise as he ripped it from his body, tossing it to the floor in disgust once it was out. But now the amount of clones had decreased to just a handful, as there was only one Mist enemy left.

He looked around, trying in vain to find the man. He attacked the clones then, only throwing them away and dodging their attacks, trying to give the enemy a false sense that he was distracted. His plan worked, for after a while of this he felt a stronger chakra signature behind him, and turned just in time to dodge a large sphere of water with a shark in it that was aimed at him. He drew a kunai and sent some of his chakra into it, throwing it at the man and hitting him in the neck. When the weapon made contact with the Mist ninja's skin, electricity shot out of it and into his body, electrocuting him until he dropped dead.

Breathing heavily from his exertion and lack of chakra, Sasuke ran down the hall and towards the master bedroom. He kicked in the door, and grew angry at what he saw. There was blood all over the floor, but none of the men in the room had a drop on them. In the center of the bed, Natsumi lay unconscious, drenched in her own blood and staining her sheets. Knowing her, if they survived this night, that would be the thing that upset her the most. The three men turned around at the noise and looked to see Sasuke. One was in the middle of removing his pants, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why he would be performing such an action.

Forcing his sharingan into the next and last level, he covered the three men in his Amaterasu, watching them scream in agony as the flames burned them slowly, until there was nothing left. When they were all dead and gone Sasuke dropped to his knee, covering his eyes with one hand. He deactivated the sharingan, his breaths coming harshly. He was completely out of chakra and energy, and his wounds were bleeding out. Soon he would die from the blood and chakra loss.

Using his last vestiges of strength, the elder Uchiha staggered over to the bed, falling on his son's side next to the pink haired woman. He wasn't a medic, but he knew from her wounds that she was fatally injured, and probably wouldn't last very long.

"Natsumi." he said, trying to see if she would wake. He refused to die not knowing her condition. He reached over and pat her face, trying to wake her.

She groaned weakly and turned her head to face him, her breathing very faint. "…Izayoi…" she barely made out, the tears were streaming despite the fact her eyes were closed.

"The children are fine and in the closet. All of the men are dead." he ground out, pain shooting through the deep wound on his back.

Natsumi slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Sasuke. Relief washed over her, they were safe and she could no longer sense any of the Mist ninja. She assessed his body and pressed her lips tightly together. "You're hurt…" she managed out, trying to lift her bleeding hand. Pain wracked her body. She'd never felt so weak and damaged before. She knew she couldn't heal him, her remaining chakra was staying put and doing its best to keep her alive. She rested her bloody hand on his and felt a new wave of tears. "I'm sorry…"

He snorted. "Don't be. I'm not." he was accepting of his fate. He had lived a life longer than most in his profession, and would now be able to join the rest of the Uchiha Clan in death. He would be able to see his parents and Itachi again.

He felt something odd in his hand, almost like she was trying to push the remainder of her chakra into him. "If…I give you the rest of mine, you'll live."

He rejected it immediately, removing his hand from her grasp. "No." he said firmly, his gaze hardening. She needed to live. That was the entire reason he had helped.

"But…" her eyes were filled with tears once more, due to the pain and her new sorrow. "Akito…"

"I did this because I wanted to Natsumi. You are my family, and I would do all in my power to protect you. Besides…Akito can live without me." he said, his features softening.

She took in a deep breath, causing her an immense amount of pain. She tightened her grip on his hand and tried to give him the best smile she could. "I love you very much Sasuke, you are an amazing grandfather. Thank you for loving my children."

His mouth lifted at the corner. "And thank you...for loving my son." he said softly. He began to cough then, the metallic, coppery taste of blood entering his mouth. He cursed to himself, realizing that the kunai must have punctured the back of his lung.

A pained look flashed over her face. "Sasuke…at least let me keep you alive until you can see Akito one last time." She said, reaching to take his hand once more. She was trying to keep conscious, but her blood loss was draining her fast.

He nodded, holding his hand out to her. "Keep yourself alive though. Your life is more important. And…don't let the children see all the blood. They shouldn't have to suffer though that." he said. He knew how traumatic something like this could be, and he didn't want his grandchildren to go through what he'd had to as a young boy. She nodded, promising silently to him.

Then he looked up at the ceiling and tried to regulate his breathing, noticing by the faint amount of light coming in that it was already dawn. Hopefully his son would get there soon, for he didn't know how long he would last, or how much chakra Natsumi had left.

She nodded, closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep. She knew she was supposed to try and keep herself awake, especially since she had sustained a blow to the head. But she was just so tired. He could feel the trace amount of chakra being sent to him. Luckily, she could keep this up even if she was asleep. She just prayed her husband would hurry.

* * *

The group from Suna had been traveling for about a day and a half now. Toshiro stared forward with a deep sigh. Something was still troubling him about his sister's vision. But Akito was with her right? He would never let anything happen to Natsumi or any of his children. The Kazekage went wide eyed and suddenly stopped, jerking forward from the inertia. "Oh my God! Natsumi!" he yelled, panic washing over his face.

The rest of the group came to a stop as well and looked back at Toshiro. "We have to go back! Now! Something terrible has happened to Natsumi!" the redhead yelled, holding his head in pain. He could feel her slowly slipping away. He turned around and took off back towards Konoha, faster than he had ever run before. Satomi was beside him instantly, worry the only expression visible in her eyes.

"Toshiro what's wrong?" the pink haired woman asked.

Sakura was with them then. "It's her premonition, isn't it?" she asked, knowing that her son and daughter had an almost psychic connection.

"No. It's much worse." he said sadly, glancing to the side to see his mother and father. "She's dying…"

Gaara's eyes widened a fraction and he focused ahead, _needing_ to be in Konoha. Minako was on Toshiro's other side, Ami and Ayame following the group. "Shiro-kun, do you want me to flash step the rest of the way? I might be able to cut down the traveling time by half." she said, wanting to help in any way possible.

"It won't matter. She's almost dead, even if you could run as fast as Natsumi…you wouldn't make it in time." He said sadly, pushing forward, feeling his eyes begin to swell with tears.

"We just have to have faith in her. I _won't_ lose another child." Sakura said, tears in her eyes as well. Gaara disappeared, leaving them all behind and surging forward in his own transportation. He would _not_ lose his precious little princess.


	21. Shock

**Tempest**

_Epilogue_

-Shock-

Akito let out a relieved sigh when he saw the village gates later on that afternoon. He had rushed through his mission, and the fact that it was really simple only helped him to finish faster. Instead of heading over to the Hokage Tower to report in to Shuhei, he went towards the Uchiha District, wanting to check on Natsumi and the kids first, just to be on the safe side.

His eyes widened and he halted in his tracks when he entered the main gates and saw his house. There were bodies littering his father's yard and his own. He activated his sharingan and ran into the house. That was when he saw the bloodbath in the living room. His breathing stopped as he remembered Natsumi's words. She had said that blood would cover their bed.

He ran down the hallway, only picking up speed when he saw the body nailed to the ceiling with his father's sword. He kicked in the bedroom door and stopped, shocked by what he saw. There was blood everywhere. On the bed lie his father and Natsumi, both covered in so much blood that he didn't even know if it was one or the others'. Or both.

He walked over to the side of the bed and dropped to his knees. "Father!" he said, eyes fading back to forest green.

Sasuke's eyes opened slowly, most of the life in them faded. He turned his head in order to look at his son. "It's about damned time you got here." He said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

"What happened? Are you okay? How long have you been like this?" Akito asked, a sorrowful look on his face.

Sasuke let go of Natsumi's hand, using it to reach up and cup his son's cheek, effectively shutting him up. He knew that it would cause him to die faster, but it was time for him to go. He was ready. "Son…I have…always been proud of you…always." He said, his face wincing at the strain he was putting on his body by moving. He didn't have much time left, he could already feel his life force leaving him.

Akito just stared at his elder. Speechless. "You shouldn't be. I failed. As a husband, a father, and a son."

His father just smiled. A genuine, heartfelt smile. "Akito, I am proud to call you my son. You…are what I always hoped to be." He said. Then his hand fell, leaving a handprint of blood on his son's face and hitting the mattress with a thud. His eyes closed slowly, and he exhaled as the rest of his life force left him.

"Father! No!" Akito yelled, leaning over the man and placing his head on the elder Uchiha's chest. There was no heartbeat at all, meaning that his father was truly dead. Sitting up, he looked down into Sasuke's face and noticed how relaxed it seemed. Never when he was alive had his parent ever looked so peaceful, not even when asleep.

He stood and walked around the bed, sitting down next to his wife's body. He pulled her to his chest, gripping her fiercely. Then he began sobbing, for the second time in his entire life. "Natsumi…how could you leave me?" he asked, gripped with the guilt of knowing that this was his fault.

"I didn't…" she mumbled weakly, slowly reaching her hand up and placing it on her husband's back. "But…you're really…hurting me…"

He pulled away swiftly. "Sorry." He said, gently laying her back down. "I'll go get help." He kissed her forehead then and swiftly rose from the bed.

"Akito…" she called, opening her eyes slightly and looking up at him. "Don't let our children see this…" she whispered, before closing her eyes once more and falling back into unconsciousness.

He left the room and made his way back down the hall, intent on getting Tsunade. That was when he felt his children's chakra coming from one of the spare bedrooms. His eyes widened as he remembered them, and he swiftly turned around and ran into the room towards the closet.

When he tried to open the door it wouldn't budge, so he kicked it in. Then he opened the secret door to the hiding spot, revealing his children.

"Dad!" Izayoi cried out, latching onto him and holding him tightly. "Dad! Grandfather and mom are in trouble!"

They all slowly came out. Kanamé was holding a very tired looking Hayate. "Is mom okay?" the eldest asked, looking more than worried.

"What about grandfather?! Is he okay too?!" Sanosuke asked.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Akito asked, ignoring the questions as he held his daughter. Hayate turned tired eyes to his father, causing Akito to gasp. He had gotten the sharingan during the attack, informing him about how traumatic the experience was. He activated his own sharingan and stared into his youngest's eyes, forcing them to deactivate. Since Hayate was so young and inexperienced, he didn't know how to control it yet, and it had almost drained all of his chakra.

Then Akito looked to Kanamé and saw that his sharingan had advanced a level. His guilt increased. He looked at all of his children. "Stay in this room until I come back. Do not open the door until I say it is okay. Understand?" he asked. He would follow his wife's wishes, knowing that she had a valid point. They all nodded, and Akito left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Not wanting to waste any time, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, appearing in the Hokage's office. Shuhei and Naruto both looked at him in surprise, halting their conversation at his appearance. "Akito-nii-san, what's-"

"Shuhei, go get Tsunade and get to my house immediately. My wife's life depends on it. Naruto, come with me." Akito ordered, jumping out the window to the ground below. Naruto was next to him shortly after.

"Akito, what's going on?" the blonde asked, confused.

"My family was attacked by Mist ninja while I was away. Natsumi is fatally injured, and my father…is dead." He said softly, rushing through the village.

Sorrow entered Naruto's blue eyes at the news that his best friend was dead. But right now Akito needed him. When they reached the house Naruto was wide eyed. "Oh my God…" he said, looking at all the damage.

Akito ignored the comment and led him to the room where his children were located. He opened the door and walked in, Naruto following. "Kids," he said, getting their attention. "Uncle Naruto is going to take you to his house for a while. I will come get you when you can see mommy, okay?" he said.

Sanosuke was wide eyed. "What about…grandfather…?" Akito looked to the floor, the answer being too painful for him to reveal to his children at that moment.

Kanamé nodded, sensing his father's reluctance. "Come on Sanosuke, let's do as dad says." He walked over to Naruto, holding Hayate's hand. The other two triplets joined him and sighed. But the youngest broke from his brother's grasp and ran for the door.

"No! I want to see mommy now!" Hayate yelled, tears filling his eyes. Akito picked him up in his arms, halting his dash for the door.

"Mommy can't see anyone right now son. Please do as I say and go with your siblings." He said, his voice full of emotion. Hayate ceased his struggling at the look of pain on his father's face.

"You promise to get us the minute she's okay?" he asked, looking up at Akito with wide green eyes. He knew his mom wouldn't want him to disobey his father, and he wanted to be able to tell her that he had been a good boy and had done what had been asked of him.

He nodded. "I promise." He handed Hayate over to Naruto then, who summoned a frog and had the kids climb out the window and onto its back. Tsunade and Shuhei arrived shortly after, both going straight back to where Natsumi and his father were laying.

"Damn." The young blonde said, taking in the sight. Tsunade hit him over the back of the head before moving to heal Natsumi.

"Will you…take care of my father…and help me clean up all the bodies?" Akito asked the Hokage, not taking his eyes off his wife's body.

"Of course Akito-nii-san. Anything. You stay here with Natsumi-chan and I'll take care of the bodies." He said, before picking up Sasuke's corpse and leaving the room.

Akito stood there wordlessly and watched for hours as Natsumi's wounds began to close. When Tsunade told him to he went into the bathroom and got a bucket of water and a rag. Then he began to carefully wipe the blood off his wife.

It wasn't until the sun began to set that Tsunade sat back, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Well, her life isn't in jeopardy now. But it will be about another hour before she is completely healed." She announced.

He nodded. "Good. I'm going out." he said, leaving the room. He needed to be away from the village and its inhabitants for a while, otherwise he might kill somebody as a way to deal with all of the emotions he was feeling in that moment.

* * *

Tsunade took a step back and evaluated her work, suddenly noticing that Natsumi's eyes were opened. "Natsumi are you alright?" she asked, resting her hand on the woman's shoulder as she began to sit up painfully. "Is there anything I can get for you?" the old woman asked.

Natsumi nodded slowly, looking around her room, stained with blood. "Yes. I need a new mattress, new sheets, and an ass load of cleaning supplies." She leaned forward, staring solemnly at the blood on her once beautiful sheets. She touched the dark crimson stains and grimaced, feeling a bit tired but was slowly gaining her strength back. "I want it all here by the time I get out of the shower."

She got up, struggling a bit. When Tsunade steadied her she gave her grandmother a halfhearted smile. "Thank you." she straightened and finally made her way towards the bathroom. Tsunade left then, off to tell Shuhei of Natsumi's request. She would have suggested waiting and having someone else clean it, but Natsumi _was_ Sakura's daughter, so she left the matter alone. Natsumi turned on the hot water and sat down, letting it rain down on her and wash the rest of the blood from her body. She watched lifelessly as the red liquid mixed and diluted. She was so weak. She was such a failure that she couldn't even protect herself, and it had caused Sasuke's death. Her tears finally began to fall, unable to handle this wave of grief. She hadn't had to deal with this kind of sadness in many years. It was as raw as when her brother had almost died. She touched her chest, attempting to hold her heart. Not wanting to sulk anymore she washed her body and her hair, making sure every sent of death on her body was gone. When she got out of the shower, she looked over at the mirror and noticed her body didn't have a single mark. The only thing that shown was her scar from her childhood. She touched it gently and then faced away from her reflection. For the first time in her life she was absolutely disgusted with herself.

She dried off and went into her closet, getting dressed quickly. She pulled on some black shorts and a tight long sleeved shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back. She grabbed a pair of her ninja shoes and pulled them on, pushing her sleeves up after that. She walked out and headed into the hallway, assessing all the new bloodstains that Sasuke had made. She pressed her lips together and tried not to think about it. When she reached the front hall, she saw all the things she had requested. She was going to scrub her house down so there wasn't a trace of this incident left.

She started with her bedroom, having the men who brought her new mattress remove the old one. Once she had finished cleaning the bedroom she had them bring in her new one. She made up the bed, fluffing all her new pillows and smoothing out the comforter. She walked over to the door, looking back at her work. She tried to keep her tears from falling. It looked perfect. As if nothing had even happened there.

She moved onto the hallway and got to her knees, scrubbing the hardwood floors with much force. She went through the entire house, having to wipe up her tears that were hitting the floor. She didn't know what would happen next. Sasuke was dead, and it was all her fault for being weak. She took in a deep breath and pushed those thoughts from her mind. She had to stop thinking that. Natsumi got up and walked outside, using her sand to break up the earth and turn the soil so that there was not a trace of blood anywhere.

Finally she moved to the living room, the place with the most mess. It took her at least two hours to clean the blood from her carpets and furniture. When she finished she sat up, still on her knees, and tossed the rags aside. She looked around the place and wiped her forehead. It probably hadn't been the best decision to work so hard after just waking up, but she needed to clean her house. She heard the door open and glanced over to the hallway, seeing Akito.

He had gone to a hotel and showered, changing into a clean Jounin uniform so that he wouldn't smell of blood when he saw his children once more. He walked through the living room, not even sparing his wife a glance, and went straight to their bedroom. He wanted to see the bloodstains where his father had died. But when he entered the room it was spotless. Perfectly clean. He activated his sharingan in order to see the details of the room more clearly, hoping to see just a trace of the crimson liquid. But of course, since Natsumi had cleaned, there was no such luck. It was as if his father had never really lain there in his own blood. Had never really died.

His hands clenched into tight fists, causing his knuckles to turn white. This was all his fault, because he hadn't listened to Natsumi. If he had, then his father would still be alive, his children would still be normal kids, and his wife wouldn't have been beaten within an inch of her life.

Natsumi walked into the room, staying in the doorway, not sure if she would be welcomed by his side right now. "Akito?"

"He's dead. He's dead and it's all my fault." He said softly, his eyes beginning to water once more. But he refused to let the tears fall.

She came in then, stopping only when she was beside him. She placed her hand on his back comfortingly and leaned forward to get a look at his face. "It isn't your fault my love."

He turned his gaze to her and glared. "Of course it is. I didn't listen to you. If I had stayed, none of this would have happened. Those bastards would have been killed before even being able to enter our home." Why wasn't she upset with him? He deserved her anger, wanted it even. It was the only reaction that made sense in his mind.

"You do not know what the outcome would have been if you had stayed. What's done is done, you cannot hold it with you." She said softly, moving in front of him and pressing her small frame against his, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. "Your father died protecting his family and he was victorious. He looked happy to me." she tried to put him at ease.

A tortured expression came to his face then. "But I wasn't good enough. I'll never be as good as he was. I failed you." He said, keeping his arms at his sides.

"How did you fail me?" she blinked, looking up at him sadly. She hated seeing him in this state, it absolutely broke her heart.

"I broke my promise. I put you and the children in danger. I wasn't here to protect you. Because of me, Hayate now has the sharingan, and Kanamé's has advanced a level." He told her, unsure if she knew or not.

Her brow scrunched in confusion as she thought about when that could have happened. She blinked and then sighed. "That must have been when Kanamé killed those three men." She said mostly to herself, but then focused back on her husband. She reached up and touched his cheek lovingly, holding his face in her hand. "You didn't fail me. You were doing your job. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect our babies."

His expression grew worse, and he jerked backwards. "Don't you understand?! I'm not good enough for this family! I wasn't a good husband, I wasn't a good father, and I sure as hell wasn't a good son!" he yelled, his face getting a psychotic look to it.

She looked a bit shocked from his sudden movement and tried not to feel hurt by the fact he had rejected her embrace. "Akito, you aren't bad for this family. I love you, the kids love you, you are an amazing father." She tried to sooth him, taking an experimental step forward. "You did not fail as a son. Your father loved you so much that he gave his life for your happiness."

His tears actually fell then at her words. He knew why his father had done it. It was to save Natsumi. But it didn't make him any less upset. "When I asked your dad why he did it…he told me it was because…" She bit down on her bottom lip and took another step forward, grabbing onto the front of his shirt so he couldn't move away again. She stared up at him, his pained expression bringing tears to her own eyes. "He said, 'Because Akito can live without me.'"

Understanding dawned in his eyes then. His father knew that if Natsumi had died he would have killed himself in order to join her in death. The fact that he had kids wouldn't even faze him. She was his entire world. So his father's act had been entirely selfless and for him.

He put his hands on her waist and drew her closer, needing her touch in that moment. He laid his head on her shoulder and exhaled loudly, gaining control of his raging emotions. "He was right…I can't live without you. When I thought you were dead…I had already picked out my form of suicide." He admitted, closing his eyes and deactivating his sharingan.

She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, keeping him close to her. She breathed in his scent, so afraid that she was never going to see him again. "I know…I realized the same thing when he said that. If you were to die…if my sorrow didn't kill me, I would follow you soon after." She admitted. She didn't care if that was selfish. He had been her life since she was seven years old. He was her drive. She would gladly die for any of her children, but she didn't think she would kill herself for them. "I told you I would not die without you, and your father let us keep our promise. He protected me and our precious children. I'm so thankful he gave me another chance with you."

"Me too." He said, nuzzling her neck and breathing deeply, reveling in her smell, her feel. "I love you so much." He said, wrapping his arms around her in order to bring her closer.

"I love you too," she whispered, kissing his neck affectingly until she reached his jaw. She moved her head a bit, forcing him to look down at her and meet her gaze. She pushed up on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his. "I love you Akito." she said again, moving her hands from his back to his face and deepening their kiss. She felt her tears streaming down her face, her heart so overjoyed and torn at the same time. She was distraught about Sasuke's death, but being able to hold her lifetime love again was more than her pounding heart could bear.

He kissed her back fiercely, tilting her head so that he could get a new angle. He would forever be grateful to his father for what he had done. If not, he would never have been able to kiss his wife ever again. When they pulled apart he stroked her cheek softly, giving her a tender look. "Are you feeling well enough to see the kids? Hayate was worried about you."

"Baby I was well enough to scrub our entire house down." She smiled at him, trying to make him feel as normal as possible. "Do you want me to go pick them up?" she searched his face, trying to figure out if he wanted to be alone or what it was he needed.

He rested his forehead against hers and moved his hand into her hair. "I will go with you, don't worry about me." Then he smiled at her. "You're the most amazing woman I've ever met. Have I ever told you that?"

"You might have mentioned something along those lines." she snickered, glad she could help him in his moment of distress. It made her happy that she could be there for him like he was for her all the time. "Though do tell why I'm so amazing." she poked his hard stomach with her finger in a teasing manner.

"You just are. It's like it's ingrained into your very being. I can't really explain it. That, and the fact that you can put up with me every day is a testament to your amazingness." He teased.

"My dearest," she sighed, taking his face in her hands. "If anyone is amazing it is you. You have a psychotic wife and you can control her. You deserve a prize." She leaned up once more and kissed him deeply, keeping her lips on his.

He made an approving noise as he kissed her. "We can discuss what my prize will be later. For now though, our children await." He reminded, not wanting to forget about the more important things that needed to be done.

She nodded and took his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "I hope I didn't scare them too much." She sighed, not really wanting to tell Akito she had overheard his and Kaname's conversation. They left the house and walked leisurely towards Naruto's house.

"By the way…they don't know about father." He said softly as the house came into view.

"I didn't expect them too." She looked over at him and then forward. "I will tell them individually, alright?"

"Alright. Do you think…I mean…should I be with you when you tell them?" he asked, unsure about whether or not she wanted him with her.

She shrugged, "It all really depends. I would say no, but my reason might make you feel like you're weak. But it might help it sink in…that your dad is gone. I mean, do you think you can go through that five different times?" she glanced up at him as they rounded the corner to Naruto's house. They stopped in front, not ready to go in yet.

"I can do it…if it will help the kids. They might need me." He said with conviction.

She smiled and laced her fingers together then, "Well alright then, you should be with them. I think the triplets will be alright…well aside from Izayoi. Hayate is pretty young, but you are his idol. So I think as long as you were unharmed he will be just fine. Sanosuke though…" she pressed her hands against her stomach and took a deep breath. "He might take it the worst."

"Yeah." He agreed with a nod. Then he knocked on the door. Hinata answered it, holding a sleeping Hayate in her arms.

"Natsumi, I'm so glad you're okay." She said, giving the pink haired woman a sincere smile. "The kids are in the living room. Naruto-kun has been trying to cheer them up and distract them."

Natsumi bowed respectfully, "Thank you Hinata for watching them. I'm so sorry to inconvenience you like this." She walked in, followed closely by Akito and came into the living room. "Hello my loves, are you all alright?"

Hinata handed over Hayate to his father as the triplets ran to Natsumi, hugging her around the waist. Sanosuke just sat on the couch and stared at them, noting his grandfather's absence. She hugged each of her triplets in turn, kissing their cheeks and their foreheads. She looked up to Sanosuke and walked over to him, kneeling before him and taking his hands in hers. "Sanosuke?"

He looked into his mother's eyes and somehow instantly knew that he would never see his grandfather again. He stood and wordlessly walked out the back door, not wanting to alarm his siblings. Akito looked from his son's retreating form to Natsumi. It appeared they would need to talk to Sanosuke first.

Natsumi sighed and looked back at Akito, shaking her head. "I'll give you a sign when you need to come out." She said, walking out after Sanosuke.

He was staring at the small pond, watching the coy fish as they swam around. His fists were clenched, and he looked almost exactly like Akito had earlier. She stopped beside him and looked down at the fish as well. "I'm sorry Sanosuke." she said sadly.

"He was like my best friend…" he said softly.

"I know," she sighed, resting her hand on his head and running it through his hair. "He loved you so much Sanosuke. He protected our family. You should be proud to have such an amazing grandfather."

"I am. I hope to be like him when I grow up." He said, clenching his fists even more. "What if I'm not good enough Mommy?" he asked, looking up at her, tears in his eyes.

She kneeled down in front of him and cupped his face with her hands. "You are more than good enough my sweet boy, you are witty and intelligent. You train hard and you care deeply for things, even though you pretend not to." She leaned forward, kissing his forehead and then hugging him tightly. "I love you Sanosuke, I know you will make me so proud." She told him, sending some of her sand into the house to alert Akito he should come out and say something to his son.

"I love you too Mommy. I'm glad that you're not hurt anymore." He said.

Akito came out then, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "Are you alright Sanosuke?" he asked.

The boy just nodded. "I…will be. It's just…I knew. I knew when he brought Izayoi back that I was never going to see him again."

His grip on his son's shoulder tightened slightly. "He knew too, son. But he also knew that what he had to do was for the family. And when he left this world, it was with a smile on his face." Akito told him, his voice softening from the emotions he was feeling. But he had told Natsumi that he would be strong.

Sanosuke turned and hugged his father around the legs tightly. "I'm going to miss him." He said, burying his face in Akito's pants. Akito knelt down and returned his son's embrace.

"We all will son. We all will." He said, stroking his son's hair.

Natsumi joined in their embrace, pressing her face against both their cheeks. "Yes we will, but I promise I will give you extra love to make up for it and even train with you my sweet little one. Would you like that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Then I can get ahead of Kanamé in learning how to use my sand." He said, smiling a bit.

"That's right." she said, holding up a finger pointedly.

Akito looked at his wife. "We should tell the others." He said. But before he could stand, the back door was opened and out ran Hayate.

"Mommy!" he yelled, running straight for her.

The pink haired woman blinked and pulled away from the two, turning to the source of the noise. "Hayate!" she smiled brightly, catching him in an embrace as he met her with open arms. "My dear, little love! I thought you were fast asleep." She said with a soft laugh, showering his sweet face with kisses.

He giggled, having missed her love when he couldn't see her. "I was, but my chakra came back, and I heard you talking." Then he looked at her seriously. "I did just what you told me Mommy. I was good for big brother, and I did what grandfather and daddy told me." He recited, nodding his head.

"That's good. I'm glad to hear that." She poked his nose playfully and sighed with content. "Are you ready to go home Hayate?"

His gaze turned fearful then. "Are all the bad people gone?" he asked softly.

She nodded, "Mommy and grandpa killed all of them. No one else will ever come to our house ever again. I promise."

He nodded. "Okay. Let's go. I'm really hungry, and Grandma Hina's cooking is good, but mommy's and daddy's is my favorite." He said with a bright smile.

"Alright then, I'll make us some dinner right when we get home." She picked up her son and stood, looking down at Sanosuke and holding her hand out to him. "You ready to go home?"

He took her hand, and then reached over so that he was holding his father's as well. "Yes."

They walked back into the house, getting the triplets and wishing Hinata a good night, thanking her once more. They all walked home together, it seemed like forever since she had seen her children acting normal. When then got home they all seemed a bit scared, even more so that the house was spotless. Natsumi set Hayate down and looked down at her children. "I want everyone to get ready for bed and we'll have breakfast for dinner." She smiled, getting a small cheer from them and then they ran off.

Akito wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. When he pulled away he set his forehead on hers. "I love you." He told her that he loved her all the time, but now that this had happened, he was going to be sure to tell her more frequently than normal. He was just so thankful that he hadn't lost her as well.

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him as well. "You're spoiling me sweetheart." She snickered, pulling his head down and placing her lips fully on his. "It's okay," she whispered, moving against him. "I'm not going anywhere. We will make sure your father's gift is protected."

He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her cheek. "You are my life Natsumi. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, even if that means never taking another mission again. We have plenty of money from the Uchiha fortune anyways." He said.

She smoothed her hand down from his neck to his chest and then placed her finger over his lips to silence him. "Don't be silly my love. I want you to go on missions, just…listen to me next time okay? If I don't have a premonition then nothing bad will happen." She smiled and kissed him over her fingertips. "Besides, I'm still going to go on assassinations, how else will I keep your property in such pristine condition?" she smirked.

He smirked. "I can think of other activities that will keep my slave looking the way I like it." He said, moving his hand to cup her butt and bring her closer to him.

She huffed and gave him a hard look. "Akito our lives are not going to stop because of this. You know that's how I keep stable."

"Fine." He sighed. Then he moved away from her and went towards the kitchen, intent on helping her with dinner.

She followed him with a pained look, "Akito what's wrong?" she asked, coming in behind him and grabbing his wrist before he could start getting out any of the pans.

He looked at her, his earlier pain in his eyes. "But what if…I just…" he turned and pulled her to him. "I can't risk losing you again. I don't think I can take it…" he said softly, admitting his biggest fear and only weakness.

She felt an overwhelming sadness wash over her, she had only seen this look once before. It was when he _had_ lost her, when he had broken her heart. "Are you sure that you would be satisfied with just staying home? All the time? You might get bored." She looked down and then an idea crossed her mind. "I know, when the kids are older, we can go on missions together. So no matter what I can protect you and you can protect me."

"You're right. We'll wait until Hayate is put on a genin team, that's only six years away." He said, giving her a small smile.

She nodded and gave him a quick kiss. "Until then you'll just have to up your game master." She teased, pulling away from him and pulling out some breakfast ingredients.

"You're going to be punished later you know." He said, getting the pans out and turning on the stove. "That is…if you think you can handle it. You may still be weak and exhausted from earlier. I don't want to wear out my servant." He teased, smirking over at her.

She laughed, cracking some eggs and pouring them into one of the smaller pans. "I need to comfort my husband tonight. I have more than enough energy to make his sorrow disappear even if it's just for the night."

He leaned over and kissed her. "You make me happy always dear." Then he turned and placed the bacon in a pan.

She just smiled, helping him with dinner. She had wanted to do breakfast because it was easy to cook and she wanted to be in her new bed with her husband. Once dinner was finished, she set the table as Akito went to go get the children. They all sat down and Natsumi took a deep breath, "Well kids, I'm sure you figured out by now, but this morning your grandfather died."

Hayate looked over at his mom. "But he's in a better place, right Mommy? Grandfather was one of the best people in the world." He said with a huge smile. Akito gave his son a tender look. Yes his father had done a lot of things he regretted in his life, but he was a good man.

"He's in a much better place Hayate, and he got to see everyone one last time." She smiled sadly, looking at the downcast triplets.

"He died protecting you, right Mom?" Kanamé asked, moving his food around on his plate.

Noriaki gave his brother a look and scoffed. "Of course he did. Grandfather would only die for the best."

"And he went out as a hero." Sanosuke added, smiling at the thought. His grandfather was so cool, even in death. And Sanosuke would live his life trying to be just as good as him.

Natsumi looked over at her daughter, who was eerily silent. "Izayoi?"

Sad jade eyes glanced up and then back down to her plate. "I'm not hungry." She said softly, pushing her plate away and then getting up. She disappeared down the hall and Natsumi sighed.

She gave her husband a look, telling him to go comfort his daughter since she was more attached to her father than her mother. He rose and went down the hall, finding his daughter in her room. "Sweetheart, do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly, walking into the room and sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.

"No." she replied, not turning to face him. She just stared at her bedside table, where a picture stood of their whole family. She was hugging her grandfather and he almost had a hint of a smile on his face.

"Alright." He replied, following her gaze and looking at the photo. "He died with a smile on his face." He told her, wanting her to know that he was at peace with his fate. That fact alone had made him feel better about losing his father, and he wanted to help his daughter through her grief.

She brought her knees to her chest and hugged them closely. "I knew he was going to die, he complimented mom. He would have never done something like that unless he was about to die." She sighed and rested her forehead on her arms and began to cry. "He told me I was beautiful just like her." she sobbed out.

He put his arm around her and rubbed her back in a comforting manner. "You are beautiful Izayoi. And your grandfather loved you very much. He knew what was going to happen to him, and was happy with it." He said softly.

"Do I really look like mom?" she asked, looking up at her dad, tears glistening in her eyes.

He smiled tenderly at her. "Yes, you do. But you also have a hint of me in there." He said, not wanting to give Natsumi all the credit for their daughter's looks.

She tugged on her short black hair and laughed. "Duh dad."

"Hey I wasn't only talking about your hair. You so have my nose, I'm just saying." He said, smiling at her.

"Grandpa says if I had pink hair I would be a mirror image of mom." She teased, snuggling into her father's lap and hugging him.

He returned her embrace. "I suppose…but I still like to think you look like me just a little. I mean, your dad's a pretty great lookin' guy."

"Dad you're the best looking there ever was," she smiled brightly. "That's why you picked mommy, because her beauty was the same level as your amazing looks." She laughed beautifully, smiling now.

He nodded. "Yup, and that's exactly why you aren't allowed to be with any boy until I approve of him. Which will never happen, because no one is good enough for my little angel." He said, tickling her sides.

"But Dad!" she gasped, turning around in his lap to face him. "That's no fair! I thought grandpa hated you until you did something stupid! I don't want to have a weird complicated relationship like you and mommy. Can't I just love them and marry them? Instead of so much idiocy and stubbornness?"

He gave her a pitying look. "I'm sorry honey, but this family is built on idiocy and stubbornness. On both sides. So it's inevitable that something like that happens with you. Besides, you know your grandfather wouldn't have approved of anyone. Because according to him, no one is good enough for his little princess." He said, the smile coming back to his face.

Izayoi smiled and then it fell when they heard hurried footsteps down the hall. The door slammed open and Natsumi stared in, tapping her foot impatiently. "While I was enjoying my dinner, I guess I must have misheard, but I think I heard the word princess and my name not in the same sentence, nor was I in the same room."

Akito gave her a skeptical look. "Oh come on baby. You know you're my princess. Perhaps you thought that's what you heard, but in reality you are quite mistaken. Right Izayoi?" he asked, looking down at his daughter.

Natsumi crossed her arms, giving him a threatening look. Izayoi perked up and smiled once more. "Of course Mom. You are the princess, is there anyone else? And when you become Queen, then I'll be the princess." She laughed, not really minding. It was simply one of her mother's odd quirks.

Akito stroked his daughter's head, looking at her inquisitively. "Are you going to be alright sweetie?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. After all, the knight protected the princess right?" she said, looking back at her picture. "I'll be alright." She promised, kissing her father's cheek.

He gave her a soft smile. "Okay. Do you want your dinner? Or are you tired?"

"I'm tired, I think I'm just going to go to sleep." She said, looking over at her mother, who walked into the room.

"Well alright my sweet girl, if you wake up hungry make sure to eat. You're going to need some energy for the academy tomorrow." She leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Akito sat her on the bed and stood. He kissed her forehead as well. "Sleep well angel. I love you."

"Night." she crawled into bed then. Natsumi hit the lightswitch and closed the door as Akito came out.

She looked up at him, giving him a skeptical look, "The master just changed tonight." She poked his chest. "This knight better please his princess with his lance." She smirked, walking back down the hall towards the dining room, making sure her hips swayed tauntingly.

He watched her walk away, giving her an appreciative look. He ran up behind her and placed his hands on her hips, pressing into her rear before she could reach the dining room. "The knight's duty is to make his princess happy. And I never fail my lady." He whispered huskily in her ear, moving his hands to her front slowly.

She bit down on her lower lip, feeling her stomach drop from his touch. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She hated how he could do that to her. "Is that so? You will have to prove your worth to me tonight." She said lowly, placing her hands over his and pressing against his lower region. She moved a bit down, smiling when she felt what she wanted. She was glad she could take his mind off his father. Things seemed to be going well, and she knew they could make it past this.

He ground into her from behind, smiling as he trailed his lips down her neck. "Of course." He kissed her neck and pulled away. Then he walked past her and into the dining room, resuming his seat to finish his dinner.

She gasped a bit, feeling breathless from his actions. She straightened her shirt and walked in as well, trying to push down the blush that had made its way to her face. She sat down and Hayate began to giggle, "Was daddy playing with mommy? Mommy always gets red when you guys play." He smiled, stuffing some eggs in his mouth.

"Daddy was just reminding mommy who's the man." Akito said, smirking up at his wife as he took a bite of his toast.

She huffed and took a bite of her toast. "Whatever, my boys know that their daddy is like putty in my hands." Kanamé tried to stifle a laugh and continued eating.

"Yeah…sure Mom." He smiled, glancing at Noriaki, who had a similar look on his face. Sanosuke just rolled his eyes at his parents.

Akito didn't say anything, knowing that if he did he wouldn't get to have his way with Natsumi later that night. They finished dinner, and while the boys got ready for bed Akito helped his wife with the dishes. Once they were done with that he kissed her lightly. "I'm going to go tuck the boys in. You should go put on something provocative while I'm gone." He said with a smirk.

She turned her head and looked at him as he walked towards the door. She pulled up her shorts, making them appear shorter and pulled down her shirt some, revealing more of her cleavage. "Baby, I thought everything I wore was provocative." She teased, leaning back against the counter.

He looked at her over his shoulder, his smirk widening. "It is…but I saw that little dress in the closet. Somebody's been holding out on me."

She arched her brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, you know how I like to surprise you." She turned back around and put up the remaining dishes. She walked past him, brushing her hand across his shoulder. "See you in bed, my knight." She whispered, disappearing down the hall to their bedroom.

Once he was done tucking in the children he went into his room. He shut the door and pulled off his clothes, stopping once he was only in his boxers. He walked over to the bed and crawled until he was over his wife, who was lying rather seductively. "I hope you're ready my princess. We have to break in this new mattress after all." He said, smirking down at her.

She stared up at him with a devious smile. "I'm always ready for my knight to dominate and please me." She said, resting her hand on her forehead. "Oh woe is me, I've been so lonely without my knight here to protect me and keep me company."

He smiled down at her. "Dear, dear princess, let me make up my absence to you by showing you my affection." He said, beginning to trail kisses down her neck. They spent the rest of the night showing each other with their bodies how great their love was. For in the morning reality would hit again as they made funeral arrangements and cleaned out his father's house. But until then, they would wrap each other in their love.


	22. Thank You

**Tempest**

_Epilogue_

-Thank You-

The sky was grey as the entire village gathered for the funeral of one Uchiha Sasuke. The rest of the Uchiha Clan was dressed in all black outfits with their symbol on the back of their shirts. Akito was holding a crying Izayoi's hand, his other on Sanosuke's shoulder. Natsumi was holding Hayate, with Noriaki and Kanamé next to her.

Next to them were the Sabakus, each dressed in their own funeral attire. Naruto stood at the podium, the tears already streaming down his face before he even began to speak. "Uchiha Sasuke…was many things." The ex-Hokage began, his voice shaking. Hinata, who was standing behind him, put her hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort her husband.

"He was a ninja of this village, a member of team seven. He was a friend, the brother I never had, a father, and a grandfather." He paused then, taking a steadying breath.

"But most importantly, he was a man who believed in family. He believed in his family so much that he died in order to protect them." Naruto's tears began to flow more heavily now. "But he did so happily, dying with a smile on his face. You see, Sasuke had already found the peace he had spent his whole life searching for. He found a piece of it when he had Akito, and it only grew as Natsumi joined their family, adding onto it with five beautiful children."

Naruto exhaled loudly, straightening as his tears stopped. "So don't feel sad about this loss. My friend died peacefully, and he even found a way to do it so that he looked completely badass." He finished, smiling at everyone. Then he walked over and placed a white lily on the coffin. "Bye teme. I know I'll see you again someday." He said softly. Hinata followed, the rest of the Uzumakis doing the same.

After they had gone, the rest of the village got up row by row and began the ancient ceremony. Each placed a white lily on the coffin of the oldest Uchiha. When the last villager set her flower down, Satomi got up, walking towards the coffin and setting hers down wordlessly. She walked back to her seat and stopped in front of her brother-in-law. They stared at one another for a brief moment. He thought she would say something tauntingly, but her action surprised him. She slowly hugged him, letting her kind side be shown to him just this once.

"I'm sorry." She told him, pulling away and holding one of his hands. She placed her other on top and nodded, going back to her seat then.

Minako went over with Ami and Ayame, and they placed their flowers on top. On their way back to their seats Minako stopped and hugged both Natsumi and Akito wordlessly. Ayame followed her mother back to her seat. Ami just stood there for a moment. Then she held her hand out to Kanamé, since she was unsure if he would be accepting of any other form of comfort from her.

He glanced down at her hand and then back to her face. He took her hand and gave it a small shake. When they released she made her way back to her mother's side. Toshiro walked over, followed by Temari and Shikamaru. They all placed their flowers down and bowed in respect. Toshiro stayed for a while, touching the area over his heart. "Thank you Sasuke…for saving my sister." He whispered, going back beside his wife. Natsumi gave her kids a small nudge, urging them forward.

"Come on," she said sadly, walking with all four of them. They each placed a flower on his coffin, bowing with upmost respect. Natsumi leaned over so Hayate could drop his own and placed hers as well. "Goodbye Sasuke." She touched the coffin and then walked back, hugging her youngest tightly.

Akito walked up to the coffin and placed his flower down. "Father…thank you for saving Natsumi. You were right, I wouldn't be able to live without her. You knew me so well…even though I never thought you did." He said sadly. "And I want you to know…that I love you. I couldn't have asked for a better dad." He said softly, smiling slightly at the coffin. Then he walked back to where his family was standing and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist.

Sakura stepped forward then and placed her flower down. "Thank you for protecting my baby Sasuke. I will forever be grateful. And…I'm glad that we still got to be family, even if it wasn't in the way either of us had ever foreseen." She said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She turned and walked back to her seat, holding in her tears. She was sad that he had died, but knew that he was truly at peace, and was glad for her childhood friend.

Everyone turned their gazes to the last person. Gaara sighed and got up from his seat, walking leisurely over to the coffin. He held up his flower, a crimson lily. He stopped in front of the coffin and stared down at the pile of white. He stepped closer and placed his hand on the top of the wood. "Sasuke…I thought that I would always hate you. Since I was thirteen I wanted you to die…I never thought…" he stopped and let out another deep breath. "I never thought that when you did die, it would bring me such grief." The redhead looked over to his daughter, who was trying to console Hayate in his soft crying. "Thank you Sasuke…" his voice actually trembled as he looked back down. "Thank you for saving my," he paused and then let a small smile come to his face. "Our princess. I could not bear it if I lost her, so thank you…thank you so much." He said, reaching his hand up to his face and feeling one stray tear run down his face. He wiped it away quickly and laughed. He placed his flower down and nodded. "In the end, I'm glad you were my family."

Lightning flashed in the sky then, lighting it up. Followed by a loud clap of thunder, signaling that it was going to rain soon. Gaara looked up and started to laugh once more. "You show off." He smirked, turning his back to his friend's body and walking back to his family, t_heir_ family, knowing everything was going to be alright.

**THE END**


End file.
